Dawn (Durell) Prall distinguished herself in 1995 as the first woman in Ohio Athletic Conference history to be named the Outstanding Diver of the Year, at a time when there were not separate awards for men and women participants. A four-year letter winner and a captain of the Swimming and Diving Team at Hiram, she displayed her athletic versatility by also playing on the Women’s Soccer Team.
Early in her Hiram career, Dawn competed in a few swimming events, but soon concentrated her efforts on the diving competitions. Her scores in both the one-meter and three-meter events steadily rose from the 150-200 point range in her first year, to the 200-250 point range as a sophomore. Then as a junior in the 1994-1995 season, she consistently won the events in meet competition with scores in the 250-350+ range, setting the school records which still stand today of 337 points in the one-meter event, and 397 points in the three-meter event. She capped off that season by winning the OAC Championship and the Diver of the Year Award.
As an undergrad at Hiram, Dawn was the President of the Chemistry Club, and also participated each year in the College’s trips in support of Habitat for Humanity. She went on to graduate from medical school at The Ohio State University in 2000, and for the last 22 years has been working as an emergency room physician in the Columbus area, currently at Grady Memorial Hospital, and is affiliated with Mount Carmel St. Ann’s.
Dawn has won numerous honors for her work in the emergency medical field, including the 2002 Ohio State University Medical Director’s Citizenship Award, the 2013 Ohio State Medical Association Physician Advocate Award, and the 2014 Edward Boudreau Excellence Award. In 2012, she was the recipient of the Ohio ACEP Physician Recognition Award for her work in combating the opioid crisis as a member of the Ohio State Medical Association Prescription Drug Advisory Committee.
