Coast Guard Academy Senior Jon Harris Named First Team Track & Field Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar

NEW LONDON, CONN.--Coast Guard Academy senior Jon Harris has been named a First Team Track & Field Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar for 2005 by Black Issues in Higher Education (BIIHE).

Harris, a team captain, has a 3.65 GPA as an Operations Research major and earned All-New England honors in the 400 meters on Saturday by placing fourth at the New England Division III Championships. Harris was also a member of the 4x400 relay team which earned All-New England honors with a sixth place finish.

Jon is a Company Commander and member of the Dean's List fand Commandant of Cadets List as well as a member of the Geneisis Club.

During the course of the last three years, he has tutored peers and underclass in math, physics and nautical science. His involvement outside of the Academy gates stretches in to the local schools and communities. He tutored at the after school program for Fitch Middle School during his sophomore and junior years, and for the past four years, he has participated in community service days at High Hopes Horse Ranch.

BIIHE established the Sports Scholar Awards to honor undergraduate students of color who have made achieving both academically and athletically a winning combination.

The student-athletes earning the prestigious honor must exemplify the standards set by Ashe, the tennis great who died in 1993. In addition to their athletic ability, students named Arther Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars must exhibit academic excellence, with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.20, and be involved in campus and community activities.