Athletic Conference recognizes Schreyer Scholar athletes
7/17/2009
Eleven Schreyer Honors College Scholars who competed on NCAA teams in the Big Ten Conference during the 2008-09 academic year have been selected to receive the conference's inaugural Distinguished Scholar Award.
The Schreyer Scholars were among 62 Penn State student-athletes to be recognized for having earned a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher. Conference-wide, the Big 10 bestowed the award to 498 student-athletes. In addition to the GPA requirement, the award, established in February 2008, recognizes student-athletes who have earned letters in their respective sport in at least their second year at their institution.
Among the Schreyer Scholar Distinguished Scholar Award recipients are two who earned a 4.0 GPA -- Gina Bartolacci, a junior finance major from Washington Cross, who is a member of the field hockey team, and Charles Cimet, a May 2009 graduate from East Setauket, N.Y., who earned honors in aerospace engineering and who competed on the men's fencing team. A total of six Penn State student-athletes achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA during the academic year.
"Student-athletes competing at the NCAA level are challenged both on the playing field and in the classroom to perform at high levels in both arenas," said Dr. Christian M. M. Brady, dean of the Schreyer Honors College. "For Schreyer Scholars, who must maintain a minimum 3.33 grade point average, enroll in honors courses, and work toward completing an honors thesis prior to graduation, the bar is raised even higher. We congratulate our Scholar-athletes for earning this recognition from the Big Ten."
The Schreyer Scholars named as recipients of the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award for 2008-09 include:
- Nathan Andrews, wrestling, a junior mechanical engineering major from Spring Mills
- Gina Bartolacci, field hockey, a junior finance major from Washington Cross
- Charles Cimet, men's fencing, a May 2009 graduate in aerospace engineering from East Setauket, N.Y.
- Kathryn Fitzgerald, women's cross country, track and field, a senior statistics major from Pittsburgh
- Anne-Martine Sherbeck Jackson, women's fencing, a May 2009 graduate in chemistry from Pittsburgh
- Scott Jacobs, men's lacrosse, a May 2009 graduate in engineering science from Dallas, Texas
- Melissa Klein, women's gymnastics, a sophomore visual arts major from Oceanside, N.Y.
- Erin Luley, women's swimming and diving, a junior animal bioscience major from Mechanicsburg
- Robert MacClaren, men's fencing, a junior crime, law and justice major from Holley, N.Y.
- Kelly Nelson, women's swimming and diving, a senior kinesiology major from West Chester
- Stefen Wisniewski, football, a sophomore education major from Bridgeville
