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[ The Elmhurst Scene ]
Diamond Scholar
Meet Beth Cann, the nineteenth Bluejay athlete to be named an Academic All-American since 2000.
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 Beth Cann compiled some pretty impressive statistics on the softball field last season, including a team-leading .404 batting average and 19 runs batted in. But even more impressive than her softball numbers was the senior nursing major’s perfect 4.0 grade-point average.
The senior outfielder’s combined excellence on the diamond and in the classroom earned Cann Academic All-America honors from espn The Magazine for the second year in a row, making her the nineteenth Bluejay athlete to be so honored since 2000. How does Cann manage to hit for power even while hitting the books? Her coach says that the two go together. “Beth puts a lot of time and energy into her studies and she puts the same kind of energy into her play,” says Lori Brown, now in her eighth season as head softball coach.
This spring, Cann and her teammates are aiming to improve on last year’s fourth-place finish in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, while maintaining the impressive academic standards they’ve set for themselves. Last year, the Bluejays compiled a team gpa of nearly 3.4. Brown’s teams regularly finish among the national leaders in team gpa. In 2005-2006, the softball team ranked third in ncaa Division iii, with a 3.56 team gpa.
Ask Coach Brown to explain her team’s success in the classroom and she will tell you that the emphasis on academics begins early. “I try to set the tone during the recruiting process when I’m talking with parents,” she says. “I tell them about the academic success we’ve had, about sending students on to graduate school. I want them to know that we’re a team that studies.”
Like coaches of other varsity teams, Brown mandates a daily team study table in the A.C. Buehler Library for her freshman student-athletes. The regular sessions help newcomers make the transition to college study, she says. It helps, of course, to have a team leader setting an example for her teammates. “Beth is one of our captains, and her teammates see the kind of time she puts into her studies,” Brown says. “When we’re jumping on the bus to go to a game, Beth will be the first one on the bus, and she’ll have her books out right away. She’s a leader.” |
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Best Leader
Commencement speaker Eboo Patel included in U.S. News ranking.
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Big Questions
EC’s thought-provoking student orientation program is featured in the Chicago Tribune.
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In The News
EC student Jessica Sullivan talks about hope and President Obama in The New York Times.
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Teacher’s Gift
An Elmhurst professor for 39 years, George Thoma reflects on what he's learned.
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Taking the Lead
At the LeaderShape Institute, the emphasis is on bonding and brainstorming.
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Chemistry Show
A science class for non-science majors teaches students to teach chemistry to kids.
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