RMC announces Academic All-Star status for 49 student athletes
Excellence in sport and excellence in academics are both tremendous achievements for post-secondary school students, but those students who achieve both receive a special status.
Each year, varsity athletes who achieve a grade point average (GPA) of 80 per cent or higher during the previous academic year who also play in U SPORTS competition are named Academic All-Canadians. At the same time, those whose competitions do not fall under the U SPORTS banner, but who also achieve a GPA of 80 per cent or higher earn OUA Academic Achievement awards.
All varsity athletes in both categories are named Academic All-Stars at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), and this year, RMC is proud to announce that 49 of its Paladins have achieved this high level of success for the 2019-2020 year.
As RMC points out in a press release on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, achieving such a high academic standard can be a challenge for student athletes at any post-secondary institution. However, this challenge is increased for student athletes at RMC, who also have additional military duties on top of their studies and athletics.
“I’m continually impressed by what our student-athletes accomplish in the classroom,” said Darren Cates, RMC Director of Athletics. “Our student-athletes constantly rise to the challenges of, and succeed in, all aspects of university life. Especially this year, when we don’t have their athletic accomplishments to celebrate, I’m glad to see so many of our student-athletes are once again being honoured as Academic All-Stars.”
This year, the Paladins are also celebrating three exceptional student athletes who have achieved Academic All-Canadian status in all four of their years at RMC. The College’s newest four-time Academic All-Stars are:
Andrea Banks (Women’s Volleyball)
Michelle Evans (Women’s Soccer)
Thomas Jung (Men’s Soccer)
On top of this, the Paladins’ Women’s Volleyball middle, Emerrie Geddes, won the Jack C. Sargant Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded annually to the varsity athlete who “demonstrates combined proficiency in academic standing, sportsmanship, leadership, and athletic ability,” RMC said.
When breaking down RMC’s 2019-2020 Academic All-Stars by team, Men’s Rugby took the lead with 13 recipients, followed closely by Fencing, which had 11 recipients.
Broken down by area of study, 31 of the recipients were in the Faculty of Arts, while 13 where in Engineering, and four were studying Science. One Aboriginal Leadership Opportunity Year (ALOY) student rounded out the College’s high-achieving athletes for the 2019-2020 school year.
RMC welcomes to public to learn a bit more about some of the 2019-2020 Academic All-Stars – including their favourite professors (Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson gets a shout out!) and courses – at the following links:
Harrison Kennedy – Men’s Volleyball
Jojo Calverley – Women’s Volleyball
Lambert Girardin – Men’s Soccer
Samantha Doma – Women’s Soccer
Benjamin Pruneau – Men’s Hockey
For a complete list of RMC’s 2019-2020 Academic All-Stars, click here. For a record of all Paladins All-Stars, click here.