EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State’s Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Spartan Academic Excellence Gala on Monday evening at the Breslin Center. It marked the first time since 2019 the event was held in-person on campus.
The event was dedicated to the late Jim Pignataro, the former Executive Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Services who passed away in August 2021 after a lengthy, valiant battle with cancer, and his wife Alana and their two children, Alison and Jimmy, in honor and recognition of all he gave to the Academic Gala during his career and to Michigan State University.
To qualify for the academic gala, student-athletes must be in at least their third semester at MSU and have obtained a minimum 3.00 cumulative grade point average (GPA) or have earned a 3.00 or higher GPA during the 2021 calendar year. In addition, graduates are recognized as well.
Former Michigan State baseball and football All-American Kirk Gibson was the keynote speaker for the event.
PRESIDENT’S AWARD
The President’s Award – the most prestigious individual academic honor in the athletic department – is given to the male and female graduating senior with the highest cumulative grade point average and who has exhausted their eligibility and completed their degree in the 2021-22 academic year. This year, three student-athletes earned the President’s Award: Sarah Flowney (rowing), Carson Gates (men’s tennis) and Melanie Helder (women’s track and field/cross country).
Flowney has made an impact on the water, in the classroom, and in the community. A three-time College Rowing Coaches Association Scholar Student-Athlete, she holds a 3.98 cumulative grade point average while majoring in human biology and minoring in bioethics. As a member of the MSU Pre-PA Club she has given back to the community by assisting at numerous blood drives and attending fundraising events for the local Children’s Hospital. In addition, she has displayed her leadership skills by participating in a variety of activities such as the Student-Athlete Women’s Leadership Council, the Spartans Rebuilding Michigan Fundraising Committee, and serving as a Spartan Mask Initiative Lead. Her passion for medicine and her strong leadership qualities have led Flowney to become part of the inaugural class of the…
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