Jonathan Ahearn Awarded Big South Conference Graduate Fellowship
May 07, 2009 | Baseball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Gardner-Webb baseball standout Jonathan
Ahearn has been awarded the annual Bob McCloskey Insurance Big
South Conference Graduate Fellowship by the league office.
The fellowship, given annually by Big South Conference corporate
partner Bob McCloskey Insurance, awards the top male and female
student-athlete $2,000 for their respective graduate studies.
Winthrop softball player Tessa Thomas was the female recipient this
year.
The recipients will be given the award as part of the league's
Spring Awards Dinner in Rock Hill, S.C., on May 28.
The Big South Conference Graduate Fellowship Program was
established by the League in the fall of 2005 as a means of
recognizing the academic excellence of Big South Conference
student-athletes who intend to pursue postgraduate studies upon
graduation from a Big South Conference institution.
A 3.9074 student with a major in health/wellness, Ahearn graduated
Summa Cum Laude in December, 2008, and is currently enrolled in
Gardner-Webb's Goldbold School of Business. He was a three-time
Academic All-Conference nominee in the Atlantic Sun Conference
prior to this season, and has been a Dean's List member each
semester at GWU.
Ahearn was nominated by the Health/Wellness Club to take the
Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam, is currently a
member of the Board of Directors for the Cleveland County American
Red Cross, is a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society, and has
volunteered with various organizations and charities during his
collegiate career, including the Cleveland Physical Therapy
Associates, American Red Cross, and local elementary schools.
Ahearn is applying to attend physical therapy school at the Medical
University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina and
the University of North Carolina.
On the field this season, the Charlotte, N.C., native is enjoying a
career year. Ahearn has started all 43 games for the ‘Dogs
(22-21) and is hitting a career-high .329 with 18 stolen bases
heading into this weekend's action with High Point. The former
Providence (N.C.) High standout has played in 150 career games at
Gardner-Webb (110 starts) and is a career .283 hitter with four
home runs, 43 RBI, 69 runs scored and 48 stolen bases. Ahearn
currently ranks fifth all-time in Gardner-Webb history for career
steals, and needs four to move past Jamall Kinard for fourth
position.
Ahearn is the second student-athlete to earn a graduate fellowship
since 2000. Former track & field standout Katherine Warden was
awarded a graduate fellowship by the Atlantic Sun Conference in
2007, and is currently in graduate school at Boston University's
School of Divinity.
