They’re some of Dalhousie’s most accomplished students: scholars, athletes and in their free time—yes, miraculously they find some—they’re also community champions.
There was no shortage of spectacular being celebrated at Dal’s yearly Academic All-Canadians luncheon Wednesday, where a record 96 student-athletes were celebrated for their success on and off their respective fields of play.
To qualify as an Academic All-Canadian, a student-athlete must maintain a grade point average of 80 per cent or better over the academic year while also competing in a varsity sport. This means that the talent on display at the event represented some of the university’s highest achievers – and, clearly, some real superstars of time management.
John MacDonald, director of Athletics and Recreation, noted how the scholar-athletes are shining examples of success across disciplines.
“Being named a Canadian Interuniversity Sport Academic All-Canadian is one of the highest accomplishments a university student can achieve,” he said, adding that the athletes are not only leaders on their respective teams, but “contribute positively to our community.”
Indeed, it was remarkable the number of charities, hospitals and student societies that were read out as part of the athletes’ citations – some of them, such as the IWK Health Centre, were cited almost as often as the names of the varsity teams themselves.
“Today we celebrate the commitment, devotion and the true inspiration that these student-athletes bring to us,” said Susan Spence Wach, associate vice-president academic who helped present the awards representing the Office of the Vice-President Academic.
Two athletes were singled out for special recognition as recipients of the TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Leadership Awards. Miranda MacMillan (women’s hockey) and Daniel You (men’s volleyball) received the awards as the male and female student-athletes with the highest cumulative GPA after their third year of studies at Dalhousie – 4.24 and 4.26 respectively. They each are awarded a $5,000 scholarship courtesy TD Insurance Meloche Monnex.
Dal News profile: From the blue-line to the classroom, Miranda McMillan makes her move
Dal News profile: Daniel You: A sports superhero in the making
The 96 athletes recognized as Academic All-Canadians this year come from all 14 teams and nearly every Dalhousie faculty. The most represented faculty this year is Science with 37 Academic All-Canadians, while the most represented team is the women’s soccer squad with 15.
Basketball
Peter Leighton
Joseph Schow
Brooke Sullivan
Alexander Veit
Anna von Maltzahn
Cross Country
Stephanie Bennett
Joshua Brisson
Josh Coyle
Ryan Kiros
Shannon McCarey
Gwendolyn Muir
Jessica Schofield
Hannah Walker
Cross Country and Track & Field
Cara Groves
Bruce Russell
Ashley Ryer
Gina Stewart
Sara Ubbens
Hockey
Cassandra Banfield
Daniel Bartek
Jordan Berk
Laurel Charlesworth
Rachel Cox
Benoit Gervais
Jacob Johnston
Shea Kewin
Jocelyn LeBlanc
Lyndsey LeBlanc
Benjamin MacAskill
Elizabeth Matheson
Bradley McConnell
Miranda McMillan
Sarah McVey
Robin Mullen
Bobby Nadeau
Brett Plouffe
Rebecca Sweet
Pierre-Alexandre Vandall
Brooklynn Winch
Soccer
Joanna Blodgett
Stephanie Crewe
Andrew Dalziel
Kyla Gunderson
Ross Hagen
Kimberly Hardy
Amanda Henry
Kieran Hooey
Jeanette Huck
Emma Landry
Scott Mazurkewich
Taryn McKenna
Anna McKilligan
Sarah Mitchell
Beth O'Reilly
Hussein Rajan
Nathan Rogers
Rieka Santilli
Adrienne Schmalz
Andrea Vanderlaan
Daphne Wallace
Swimming
Danielle Adam
Theresa Benison
James Burg
Bryan Fumerton
Julia Gow
Rhea Hurnik
Mary Claire Lynch
Ceilidh MacPherson
Martin McKend
Christopher Moran
Michaela Nichols
Matthew Piggott
Tavia Raiche-Marsden
Jilayna Stigter
Joseph Ur
Emily Wood
Track & Field
Katerina Allan
Michael Bawol
Nathan Comeau
Louis DeMello
Rebecca Haworth
Sean Higgins
Seth London
Elizabeth MacDonald
Robert McCulloch
Nabil Moussa
William Sandeson
James Sharpe
Volleyball
Aaron Binstock
Maxwell Burt
Graeme Higgins
Travis MacLean
Petra Rafuse
Sasha Kosanov
Hilary Sears
Kirstie Shepherd
Daniel You