Student-Athletes Score Big in the Classroom

NYIT student-athletes are making the grade.

Ivana Andric, Derezaar Banaji, Elise Brune, Kaitlyn Byrnes, Lena Dimmer, Haley Gilmour, Maia Hood, Alyse Jefferson, TJ Micheli, Felicia Mulholland, Matej Selecki, Martin Sundell, and Astasia Williams-Bertles all earned a 4.0 GPA during the fall 2017 semester. Four of the student-athletes—Banaji, Byrnes, Gilmour, and Micheli—were first-semester freshmen.

The students will be recognized at the Athletic Director’s Fall Honor Roll Luncheon on March 1 along with 121 fellow student-athletes who achieved at least a 3.2 GPA. Together, they make up more than half of all NYIT students who participated in intercollegiate athletics last semester. And there are more academic accolades to go around. Combined, student-athletes achieved a 3.24 GPA average during the fall semester, outpacing the general student body.

Women’s tennis headlined the achievers. Not only did the team capture its sixth straight East Coast Conference title in the fall, but also the student-athletes’ combined GPA was a 3.83.

Softball placed second with a combined 3.48 GPA, with men’s tennis narrowly behind at 3.40.

“Our goal is to win on the fields and courts of competition, and win in the classrooms and be national leaders in academic success,” said Dan Vélez, director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation. “We also will win in life by making sure our student-athletes have all of the tools necessary to grow, mature, and become integral members of society once their time at NYIT is complete.”