ONYX ANNEAU - FALL 2025

What makes a successful, well-rounded student-athlete?

By Betsy Simon Digital and Brand Marketing Manager

Good grades, time management skills, adaptability, being one foot in the classroom and the other in the sport. For Saint Mary-of the-Woods sophomore Callee Riggle it also means remembering that the goal is to have a diploma in one hand and an opportunity in the other when her time in track and field is over. Riggle stays busy every spring participating in javelin and hammer throw, while earning her degree in Elementary Education K-6. She does it balancing a full plate as a Saint Mother Theodore Guerin Scholar, member of the leadership council for SMTG Scholars, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and working as a Student Ambassador. “My involvement has helped me create relationships with other individuals, develop skills that have made me a better teammate, and I’ve found a home away from home while doing it,” said Riggle, of Roachdale, Ind.

Involvement has been a test of Riggle’s time management skills, but she’s mastered it while learning other valuable lessons. “I try to manage my time to the best of my ability by going to my favorite study spots on campus to finish my class work,” she said. “I’ve had to learn communication, problem solving and more to make it work, but they are all skills I can use now, and in the future, to be a leader in whatever I do. And, of course, rest is important to me and how I perform, and I always try to put aside time for myself to do the things I enjoy.” Students are not only seeing success in athletic arenas but are thriving in the classroom. In the 2024-25 academic year, 87 Pomeroys were recognized as Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes. To qualify, students must maintain at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average. Additionally, when the Dean’s List for the spring 2025 semester was released, student-athletes made up just over 50% of the campus students who achieved a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Kevin Lanke, SMWC’s associate vice president for Athletics, likes to say that a student-athlete is a four-year commitment for 40 years of value. “While their sport is important to the student, we’re trying to build teamwork, leadership and character, and those are all things that are going to take students forward in their careers,” he said. “There are skills,

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