North Carolina Central University Athletics

2012-13: Ended her career with a singles record of 52-31 (.627) ...Named to COSIDA Academic All-District Women's At-Large Team … Finished 9-8 overall singles, 5-1 against MEAC opponents in singles, defeated UNC-Charlotte’s No. 1 (Alexandra Zinn) 7-6 (10-8), 7-5, 8-7 overall doubles, 5-1 against MEAC opponents in doubles, 5-4 at No. 1 doubles, 2-1 at No. 2 doubles. MEAC Player of the week Feb. 27 … The Kyiv, Ukraine native finished her academic career with a bachelor’s of science in biology/pre-med and chemistry minor in May 2013, while maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average throughout her education at NCCU … Palko also received the University Award for Academic Excellence, the university's second-highest honor (Spring 2013), and the Award for Highest Academic Performance by a Senior from the NCCU Department of Biology (Spring 2013). She was also a CREST and NASA Centers Scholar in the Department of Biology (2013), served as a Research Assistant in the Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute at NCCU, and was a part of the Oral Cancer Project (Aug. 2011-May 2013).

Personal: Born January 26, 1993 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Parents are Georgii Palko and Eva Tsikor. Major at NCCU is Biology/Pre-Med with a minor in Chemistry.

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Feature Story by Mike Potter: "PALKO SHATTERS LANGUAGE, CULTURE BARRIERS TO ACHIEVE ATHLETIC, ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE"