Generally when you hear student-athlete, the athlete aspect stands out, but thats not always the case. The truth is a minority of college athletes go onto be professionals. While the majority use their college education to further their lives. For more on student-athlete success we go to Raymond Ross…

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You hear the stereotype all the time, typical dumb jock. While some may perpetuate the stereotype, it isn’t always true. Especially at Kent State, where they are trying to create well rounded, educated student-athletes.

The student-athlete academic services office is located in the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center and is an extension of the Kent State athletic department. Another extension of the SAAS is the George R. Jenkins Athletic Academic Resource Center or ARC. The ARC is essentially a private library for student-athletes, where study sessions and tutoring are available.

The process begins during a student-athlete’s freshman year, when the department of student-athlete academic services, or SAAS, keeps a close watch on the new student-athletes. Closely monitoring coursework, schedule and practice time keeps the freshmen student-athletes on track.

As student-athletes continue on in their athletic and academic careers, they are required to finish a certain amount of classes per year, in order to keep their eligibility. If they student-athlete does not complete the allotted classes in a given year, they won’t be allowed to participate in the upcoming season.

Student-athlete academic service is a student-athlete’s main resource. Heavily relying on the academic counselors, the student-athlete can seek counseling, tutoring and mentoring if needed.

The counselors schedule student-athlete’s classes, hoping to find them classes that agree with their athletic schedule. Very often, student-athletes and academic counselors develop a close relationship. Developing relationships allows counselors to be aware if a student-athlete is in trouble and help the student-athletes to work through their struggles.

As a part of the student-athlete experience, they are required to take a course, life after athletics, their senior year. This class helps student-athletes prepare for the working world, helping with their resume and interviewing skills.

Last spring the SAAS had one of their best semesters yet, achieving a cumulative 3.13 grade point average, the highest yet. The Golden Flashes also saw 52 of their student-athletes on the President’s List, for achieving a 4.0 GPA for the semester.

While athletics is a large part of the student-athlete’s everyday life, academics is also. The SAAS will continue to prepare student-athletes for the next semester and their lives after collegiate athletics.