The Hibernia Bank/Southland Conference Commissioner’s Fall Academic Honor Roll was released last week, and Nicholls has 25 student-athletes on the list.Players who competed in league championship sports during the fall that maintained a 3.0 grade point average, along with carrying at least 12 semester hours, are recognized on the list.
The Colonels football team had the most honorees with 13 members named to the list, followed by eight members of the soccer team, three from the volleyball team and one men’s cross country runner. Texas State had the most members with 60 on the honor roll, followed by Northwestern State with 59 and McNeese with 47.
The members of the football team who were honored included Toney Edison, Robert Ellis, Jon Wade Carleton, Cody Dimiak, Jared Fanguey, Joel Fontenot-Amedee, Henry Johnson, Juan Montoya, Zechariah Morgan, Nicholas Reasons, Dedrick Smith, Yale Vannoy and Austin Williams.
Amy Authement, Kristen Fillmore, Heather Gamble, Desire George, Sarah Neunzig, Denise Prewett, Victoria Priddy and Sarah West were named from the soccer team. Ashley Leonard, Aaliyah Muhammad and Cassey Stacey made the list from the volleyball team, while Andr Ory is the only representative from the cross country team.
Muhammad, family and consumer science junior, was not surprised when she found out that she made the list. “I work hard, and I deserve the grades that I get,” Muhammad said. “I don’t want professors to give me grades, and I work for every point that I earn.”
At first Muhammad was a nursing major, but with the intensity of the classes that go along with nursing and being a volleyball player, she decided to switch her focus from nursing to child and family social services. “When you get to upper level nursing courses, you can’t miss clinicals,” she said. “Unfortunately, nursing and volleyball don’t mix.”
After she graduates, Muhammad wants to continue in school to get her master’s and one day open her own counseling firm. “I want to do my own private practice with families and marriage counseling. With a master’s you can open up your own firm, and that’s what I’m aiming for.”
Edison, a petroleum services junior from Taylorsville, Miss., originally wanted to be in drafting but changed his mind once he arrived on campus. “They really didn’t have drafting here at Nicholls State, and petroleum was the next closest thing that I found next to engineering.”
With school five days a week, football practice and football games on Saturday, Edison still finds a way to devote time to both school and sports. “There is always a time in the day when you really aren’t doing anything,” he said. “It can definitely get hard with all the things going on, so I take that time and use it productively.”
In the future, Edison said that he wants to work at Chevron, Exxon or a petroleum plant as a manager or CEO. He also said that he’s thinking about getting a minor in business to aid him in finding a job after college.
Both Muhammad and Edison serve as examples for others who may want to follow in their footsteps, not only to underclassmen, but also to some who may be in high school wanting to play in college but might not take getting an education seriously.
“Football doesn’t last forever, and it could be all over in one play,” Edison said. “I would tell them that if you have that degree in your back pocket, the possibilities are endless, and you can guarantee yourself a successful life.
