Student-athletes making the grade

BRYANT STUDENT-ATHLETES ACHIEVE SUCCESS BOTH IN THE CLASSROOM AND ON THE FIELDS

Bryant Athletic Communications 

Certain things can brighten the day for Kelley Tiarks, Bryant’s Academic Services Coordinator for Student-Athletes, but a simple high five from one of her students may just rank above them all.

Seeing student-athletes succeed on the playing fields – earning all-conference honors, leading their teams to victories, watching them receive the praise and notoriety that goes along with their on-field triumphs – that’s all great too, but for Tiarks, it’s about more than that. It’s their successes in the classroom that truly moves her ear to ear. And for all of her efforts, she gets all the praise and notoriety she requires in that small, little high five.

“It’s a great feeling when a student-athlete stops you in the hallway, eager to seek you out not to talk about how many points they scored last night, but how they did on their test in class. That is what it’s all about,” said Tiarks. “That’s when I know we are doing things the right way.”

Coming to Bryant in 2007 after earning her bachelor’s degree from UMass and a master’s degree from Springfield College, Tiarks has done an incredible job at conquering an often overwhelming task: working with more than 450 students-athletes throughout the year on what’s important off the field.

A former collegiate athlete herself, Tiarks understands the rigors and demands of being a Division I student-athlete. Balancing studies and group projects with team practices, game travel and offseason workouts requires commitment, focus and, most importantly, discipline. And those traits don’t always come easily to 18- through 22-year-olds.

Many require a little help adjusting to academics at the college level, and that’s where Tiarks and her team come in. Joined by the talents of Marissa Zadrozny and Aaron Dashiell, Tiarks offers guidance and support for those who need it.

“Through the Academic Center for Excellence, we have taken it upon ourselves to get freshmen immediately connected to the best resources we can offer, allowing them to start off their academic careers on the right foot,” said Tiarks.

“All freshmen are required to attend eight hours of study hall every week, but that can include time they spend utilizing the resources and study spaces available at ACE. We allow them to be to be creative with their time instead of just sticking them in a room and telling them to study.”

So far, the ends are more than justifying the means, and the results are proving Tiarks’s methods work. The combined student-athlete grade point average reached its highest level ever this past fall at 2.908, just a fraction below the undergraduate student-body GPA of 2.983.

A total of 233 athletes exceeded the GPA of the overall student population, with 229 of them earning at least a 3.0. Three even achieved the ever-elusive perfect 4.0 – a feat for any student – and did so during their competition season this past fall. Seventy-one were named academic all-conference selections by the Northeast Conference, with nine earning Gold Scholar recognition.

“Every semester we seem to have a breakthrough year that’s even better than the last one,” said Tiarks. “The student-athlete GPA just continues to climb higher and higher, and that is certainly a direct result of the resources and programming offered here at Bryant University through the Academic Center for Excellence.”