Washington, Miller Peru State’s 2025-2026 Swenson Award Winners

Peru State College (PSC) student-athletes Zahir “Ziggy” Washington and Kennedy Miller are 2025-2026 recipients of the college’s Bert Swenson Award.
A native of Pleasantville, N.J., Washington played four years on the Bobcat football team and was a full-time starter as a junior and a senior. He earned all-conference honorable mention as a sophomore, second-team All-Heart as a junior and first-team all-conference as a senior.
A December 2025 magna cum laude graduate with a degree in educational studies, Washington is a firefighter and emergency medical technician with the Omaha Fire Department.
Miller, a Plattsmouth native and graduate of Plattsmouth High School, was a four-year member of the Bobcat volleyball team and two-year starter. She earned All-Heart as a junior and senior. As a senior, Miller was named Heart of America Athletic Conference Defender of the Week twice. She was honorable mention recognition on the Omaha World-Herald’s All-Midlands National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics team. 
A 2026 magna cum laude graduate with a degree in K-12 physical education, Miller is teaching elementary physical education at Cornerstone in Bellevue.
Both also earned academic recognition.
Bert and Stella Swenson established the award in memory of their son, Bert Jr., who died at age 13 months. Bert Swenson Sr. was a 1909 PSC graduate who served as football team captain and class president at the college. In 2009 he was posthumously inducted into the PSC Athletic Hall of Fame.
Each year, coaches nominate senior student-athletes who demonstrate athletic achievement, outstanding character, personality, service and loyalty to Nebraska’s first college. The athletic department staff selects one male and one female recipient. The honorees receive a commemorative watch and medallion from the Swenson family through the PSC Foundation.