The mind‑body connection

Tim Wiley, men's volleyball

A goaltending architect. A transplant immunologist who presents research at international conferences while earning gold medals for cross-country running. A volleyball champion who studies kinesiology and volunteers as a rehabilitation therapist for brain injury patients.

Miles Agar, Ellen Vessie and Leslie Marriott are just a few of the 73 exceptional students and recent graduates honoured for their academic and athletic achievements, at the seventh annual Dalhousie Academic All-Canadian Luncheon.

"Every one in three of our varsity athletes is an Academic All-Canadians, almost double the national average," Al Scott, Director of Athletic and Recreational Services, told the crowd of students, parents and faculty mentors at the November 21 event.

This ranks Dalhousie eighth among Canadian universities. In order to qualify for the distinction according to standards set by the national university sport authority, Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), varsity athletes must maintain an 80 per cent average in their studies, or a cumulative grade point average of 3.43. Somehow, many of Dalhousie's top athletic scholars also make time for volunteer work.

The event's top honouree was Hilary Burn, a recent Law graduate and cross country runner who placed among the top eight student-athletes in Canada. A Dean's List student throughout her degree, she earned a gold medal in March at the CIS Track & Field Championships, and now works in Boston as special assistant to a judge.

Janice, Ashworth, women's cross country

The mind-body connection generates success in both areas, and it has long been recognized that one informs the other, Dr. Sam Scully, Vice-President Academic and Provost, said in congratulating the students assembled in the McInnes Room of Dalhousie's Student Union Building.

"They're not separate spheres and there are transferable skills between the two," he said, adding "for intellectual activity, you have to train and exercise in much the same way as with athletics."

Achievement in both areas requires a healthy sense of time management, adds Rebecca Harrison, a Swim Tiger and second-year Dean's List science student. She represented Nova Scotia at the 2005 Canada Summer Games, and just qualified for the CIS national swimming competition. In an average week, she hits the pool eight times and puts in three weight training sessions. It's hard to do homework at the end of such long days so she tackles most of it between classes. "I hate wasting time! I try to be as efficient with it as possible. I've always been that way," she says.

National track and field champion Adrienne Power admits she lacked academic focus early on in her studies, but turned it around to graduate last spring with the highest average in Marketing. In May, she became the first Atlantic Canadian to be recognized as CIS Female Athlete of the Year for all sports, which carries a $10,000 scholarship for graduate studies. She now works as a motivational speaker for RBC Royal Bank, in a special program that allows her time to pursue her goal of competing for Canada in the next Olympics.