The seven-time NCAA qualifier in the pole vault for the Jumbos earned All-American status six times, while majoring in quantitative economics and actively volunteering
“The breadth of her extracurricular activities when seen together with her athletic performance and her academic performance make her without any doubt a model candidate for this award,” said faculty advisor Yannis Ioannides. Photo: Courtesy of Tufts Athletics
Sarah Firth, A26, a women’s track and field All-American, has been selected as a recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. She is one of just 21 female student-athletes nationally at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels to receive the award.
The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Committee awarded Firth a $10,000 scholarship for graduate study. The scholarship is awarded to 42 student-athletes who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievements, athletic excellence, and leadership within their communities.
Firth graduated with magna cum laude honors in February, earning a degree in quantitative economics. She will be continuing her education at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. The NCAA scholarship will go towards her graduate school tuition.
“I’m so excited to receive this funding to study urban planning in graduate school at Harvard,” Firth said.
“While attending Tufts, I had the opportunity to spend four years studying in Somerville, a city known for its walkability, extensive bike infrastructure, public transit, and thoughtful approach to urban planning,” she added. “Through Tufts athletics, I was able to travel all over the country, experiencing different cities and seeing firsthand what worked and what didn’t, when it came to urban design and development. I’m excited to build on my experiences and continue learning how cities can better serve the people who live in them.”
Firth was a seven-time NCAA qualifier in the pole vault for the Jumbos. She earned All-American status six times, including an eighth-place finish at the NCAA indoor championships in 2022 and a 10th-place mark at the 2025 NCAA indoor meet.
She is the school-record holder in the event for the indoor season with a 3.92m (12’10 1/4”) mark. Her outdoor best of 3.83m (12’6 3/4”), which once stood as the school record, currently ranks her third in school history. She was a New England Division III champion and a two-time New England Small College Athletic Conference All-Conference honoree during her career as well.
Firth graduated early in seven semesters, earning minors in urban studies and geoscience. She was a recipient of the Frederick Melvin Ellis Prize, awarded to an individual who demonstrates athletic ability, a modest manner, successful academic achievement, and potential for effective leadership of youth.
Outside of athletics, Firth engaged in many other different activities at Tufts. As part of the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, she held roles as a learning assistant and grant writer and spent the summer of 2023 in Greece with the Tufts Global Research Assistant Program.
She was also deputy features editor and a sports columnist—among other roles—at the Tufts Daily newspaper. She was also a campus tour guide, part of the Tufts Greek Music Ensemble (vocals and accordion), chair of the Tufts Orthodox Christian Fellowship, and a member of the club gymnastics team.
“Sarah Firth is one of the most talented students that I advised during my 30-year career as a senior Tufts faculty member,” said her advisor Yannis Ioannides, research professor and Max and Herta Neubauer Endowed Chair Emeritus in the Department of Economics. “Curious, energetic, bright, careful in entering new areas, but also ready to explore unfamiliar territories, Sarah impressed me by her performance in all aspects of her academic and extracurricular work. The breadth of her extracurricular activities when seen together with her athletic performance and her academic performance make her without any doubt a model candidate for this award.”
Firth also was an active volunteer, highlighted by work with the New England Hemophilia Association, where she has worked with children and families affected by all bleeding disorders. During the summers of 2024 and 2025, she was a camp counselor for the Alaska Hemophilia Association, helping young female campers affected by bleeding disorders.
True to her various skills and interests, this summer, before starting at Harvard, Firth is working as a sportswriter for USA Gymnastics, tutoring high school students in math, and serving as a pole vault coach for the Slovenski Camps.
