Chemistry major Aaron French repeats as @UofDallas 'Scholar-Athlete of the Year'
IRVING, Texas - Junior cross-country runner Aaron French (Siren, Wis.) was introduced by faculty representative Dr. Tom Jodziewicz as the 2013-14 University of Dallas (UD) Scholar-Athlete-of-the-Year, during the inaugural UD Athletics Awards Ceremony, on Sunday night in the Haggar University Center.
French, a Chemistry major, boasts a 3.96 grade-point average. This mark is the highest among active letter-winning Crusader student-athletes. The 15th recipient of the acclaimed award, he was previously heralded as the 2012-13 Scholar-Athlete-of-the-Year.
"I am very grateful to have received the scholar-athlete award, again," French said. "It has never been the motivation for me – I have always done well because I love learning and I love running – but it still is an honor and means a lot to me. UD is a phenomenal institution, which combines these two, and it is surpassed by none."
"I am very happy to be able to share these things with my peers," French said. "That is what this award means for me. There are a lot of very smart and talented student-athletes at UD, and they all deserve recognition for their hard-work."
It should be noted, that during the ceremony, with UD President Thomas W. Keefe and other high-ranking school officials on hand, coaches detailed over a combined 100 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) accolades claimed by UD student-athletes in the 2013-14 academic-year.
Junior first baseman and right-handed pitcher Trevor Keele became the university's first-ever SCAC player-of-the-year, as a result of being named the 2014 SCAC Baseball Offensive-Player-of-the-Year.
As for French, the three-year letter-winner -- who has also competed on the men's track and field team – is a two-time designee to both the SCAC Academic Honor Roll and to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association's National All-Academic Team.
French recently received notification he was awarded a prestigious United States Department of Energy scholarship to continue his nuclear-study focus into his senior year.
"I have had the opportunity to take a lot of physics classes, and conduct nuclear-physics research with Dr. Sally Hicks of the UD Physics Department over interterm and into this past semester," French said. "These experiences have definitely increased my interest in the field. Thanks to my professors' assistance, I am in a very good position to pursue these dreams."
French will attend San Jose State University (Calif.) over summer break to take courses in nuclear chemistry.
"This summer will help answer a lot of questions for me and my future," French said. "If things go as planned, I will pursue an interdisciplinary (materials science) graduate degree. I want to design and study materials, and their effects under conditions wherein they experience various types of radiation. It is a field in which I can combine chemistry, physics, and nuclear energy."
After obtaining his doctorate, French aspires to work in the nuclear-energy sector. Before that, however, he has a chance to become the third student-athlete to three-times earn UD Scholar-Athlete-of-the-Year.
Click here to view all of the honorees.
About the University of Dallas Scholar-Athlete-of-the-Year Award:
The Scholar-Athlete-of-the-Year Award was first implemented in 1984 and given to Greg Roper -- a current University of Dallas Associate Professor of English. Since the award's inception, there have been 15 different winners. The award is handed annually to the letter-winning varsity student-athlete with the highest GPA; freshmen are not eligible.