24 student athletes from St. Thomas University were recognized by the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association for their efforts in the classroom for the 2019-20 season, by being named CCAA National Scholars.

The National Scholar award is presented to student athletes who maintain a strong grade point average while competing in the CCAA.

Jessica McWilliams (Tracadie, NB) is entering her 3rd year of being a student athlete with the women’s soccer team, and has achieved the National Scholar status for the first time.

She attributes her success to the environment at St. Thomas “I'm majoring in subjects that I am passionate regarding, which gets me excited to learn and being on the field with teammates I could lean on for anything.  It was such an important aspect to a well-rounded student-athlete lifestyle.”

Adam McDougall (Calgary, AB) was honoured to be named a CCAA National Scholar after completing his first season, including an ACAA Championship and hosting the CCAA Men's Volleyball Nationals at the Grant-Harvey Centre.

"Coming into university out of high school, the workload was definitely somewhat of an adjustment, especially when compounded with the amount of time we spent in the gym and on the court practicing," mentions the Men's Volleyball outside hitter. "At times it was difficult, but I always tried to manage my time effectively and get into a solid study schedule."

Both McDougall and McWilliams agree that the most important thing about being a student athlete surrounding yourself in an environment that supports learning while balancing practices.  

“What helped me succeed not only on the field but in the classroom, was making sure I was enjoying what I was doing to my fullest potential” said McWilliams

McDougall adds: “Team study hall was a big help with that. It’s always easier to motivate yourself to go study if you know the whole team is going to be there." 

With the addition of the 24 award recipients this year the Tommies have now accumulated 313 CCAA National Scholar awards since 2004-05

2019-2020
Kassidy Hamilton, Basketball
Cassy Hemphill, Basketball
Morgan McHatten, Basketball
Madison Owens, Basketball
Adam Evelyn, Soccer
Nunzio Marceca, Soccer
Kyle Yearwood, Soccer
Kaitlynne Benjamin, Soccer
Taylor Clark, Soccer
Rhys Dixon, Soccer
Silvia Fullarton, Soccer
Melanie Laplante, Soccer
Jessica McWilliams, Soccer
Phoebe van der Meulen, Soccer
Christian Christie, Volleyball
William LeBlanc, Volleyball
Adam McDougall, Volleyball
Noah Tulk, Volleyball
Andrea Bell, Volleyball
Jenna DeGooyer, Volleyball
Danica Godin, Volleyball
Jenicca Jean, Volleyball
Caitlin Jones, Volleyball
Mija MacDonald, Volleyball