March 11, 2015
By Jerome Boettcher | Subscribe to Commodore Nation
For graduate student and distance runner Liz Anderson, popping open the laptop on the sleeper bus while heading to a meet is the norm.
In order to stay on top of things in the classroom, Anderson and her fellow Vanderbilt student-athletes have to sacrifice the free time and put in the extra work. Maybe that’s one reason 4.0 GPAs were at an all-time high last semester for the Commodores.
“On bus rides to meets, we’ll always bring out my homework,” said Anderson, who received her undergraduate degree in communication and philosophy last May. “Some of my friends who run at other SEC schools are like, `Wait, you do homework on the bus? Why?’ It is one of those things where you’re so thankful that you go to Vandy because it prepares you for everything. I think the fact that Vandy students can still get 4.0s and compete the way they do… is an awesome thing.”
This past fall, a record 13 student-athletes joined the elite 4.0 Club after notching a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester. Starting about three years ago, Vanderbilt academic counselors began to keep track of the feat every semester. Proudly displayed in the academic support center on the first floor of the McGugin Center are pictures of the 13 student-athletes with their major and their sport.
This year’s list includes: Anderson (cross country/track), Claire Anderson (soccer), Skyler Carpenter (track), Nicole Chanin (bowling), Nick French (cross country), Nikos Gkotsis (cross country), Katie Rose Higgins (golf), Taylor Hudson (football), Lauren Johnson (golf), Amira Joseph (cross country), Nicole Mosesso (bowling), Mallory Schonk (lacrosse) and Ashley Vega (soccer).
“It is really exciting and rewarding to see so many people achieve that,” academic counselor Ashley Vogl said. “I think it is something student-athletes strive for and very proud of when they do achieve that. Putting it on display in the academic center reinforces it. It is nice to walk by that every day and know that is something they achieved.”
The fall semester list also displays an impressive amount of variety. Eight different sports were represented. The 11 undergraduate students are pursuing 10 different majors. Liz Anderson and Higgins are both enrolled in graduate school at Peabody College in the Leadership and Organizational Performance program.
Hudson and Joseph are pursuing Interdisciplinary Studies majors in the field of neuroscience. Carpenter and Mosesso are Medicine, Health and Society majors. French (electrical/biomedical engineering) and Johnson (mathematics/sociology) are double majors.
Higgins has made the 4.0 Club all three semesters at Vanderbilt since transferring after receiving her undergraduate degree in accounting from South Carolina. Hudson, who plans to attend medical school after he graduates in May, has earned 4.0 GPAs the last two semesters.
“It is something I strive for every semester and I’m glad it has worked out this past couple,” Hudson said. “You really have to be on top of everything both school and sports wise to know when everything is due and know when you are going to be busy with sports. School picks up and to really find that balance is difficult. I think the Vanderbilt student-athlete really embodies both of those hemispheres. With the kind of people we have around here we should expect even more (4.0s) in the future. “
