Frederick Breuer of men's rowing and Cato Knipping of field hockey are the winners of the annual Oscar and Theodore Geballe Postgraduate Scholarship - recognized for their combination of excellence in both academics and athletic competition.
 
Breuer and Knipping will each be awarded a $10,000 stipend for their postgraduate studies.
 
The Oscar and Theodore Geballe Award was created through the generosity of Dr. Theodore Geballe to honor his father, Oscar Geballe, and recognizes his strong belief in the value of combining scholarship and intercollegiate athletic competition. There have now been 108 Geballe Award winners since 1981.
 
Breuer has already put together a storied career in the sport of rowing. He recently tried out and earned a seat on Germany's men's eight boat that competed in last summer's Paris Olympics and was in Cal's first varsity eight boat that went undefeated in 2022 and 2023 on its way to back-to-back national championships. Breuer will leave UC Berkeley with a degree in energy engineering and has been accepted into the competitive MSC in Energy Systems program at the University of Oxford where he will dedicate his career to innovating clean energy technologies.
 
"My passion for sustainable energy systems and motivation to contribute to the world's net-zero carbon emission transition has been the consistent guiding theme throughout my undergraduate studies," Breuer said. "The Geballe Award represents a great honor, prestige, and vital support that will empower me in the next phase of my life as I continue pursuing my academic and athletic endeavors."
 
Knipping graduated from UC Berkeley cum laude in May 2023 with a double major in Cognitive Science and Economics, all while serving as a three-year captain of the field hockey team and the Belgian youth national team. At Cal, she also earned the Neufeld Scholar-Athlete Award, presented to the graduating student-athlete with the highest GPA. Her long list of athletic accomplishments include being named to the America East All-Tournament Team, earning Defensive Player of the Week five times and winning the All-Cal award as voted on by her teammates, which is given the to the player who best embodies excellence in leadership, athletics, and academics. After graduating, Knipping became a member of Phi Beta Kappa, one of the most prestigious academic honor societies in the United States. She is currently pursuing a master's in both business economics and leadership and management at the University of Amsterdam. At the same time, she joined the Sustainable Students Consultancy, where she works with companies across a variety of industries to address pressing sustainability challenges.
 
"My goal is to help build healthier organizations - where well-being, equity, and high
performance go hand in hand. Just as I invested in building a positive, resilient, and high-performing team at Cal, I hope to bring that same mindset into future workplaces," Knipping said. "This master's will help me deepen my understanding of what it means to lead with vision, and will equip me to drive internal transformation in the workplace."