Other than a winning locker room, there's no place that's more fun to be than the hallways of Prather Coliseum in the minutes before graduation ceremonies begin.
The corridors are filled with people whose futures seemingly have no limits.
That sure seemed to be the case last Thursday evening at the traditional graduation reception for student-athletes and other athletic department personnel, hosted by director of athletics Greg Burke and the incomparable Julie Lessiter, our academic advisor for athletics.
These events serve as a reminder why we're really here. The games, the scores and the cheers of the crowd are great, but the bottom line is all about enriching the lives of the student-athletes and seeing them progress toward the goal of earning a college degree.
It's not easy. For student-athletes, balancing the demands of their responsibilities with their sport and their academic workload is a tremendous challenge.
There's little doubt that their experiences over the last 4-5 years have prepared them well for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
A tip of the cap goes to Lessiter, who is the best coach ever at Northwestern who doesn't have an official "win-loss" record to her credit. Look at the strong performances in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate report over the past three years, or the consistent strong representation of NSU on conference academic honor rolls, and as the student-athletes and coaches will tell you, a lot of the credit for that traces back to our gritty little Brit.
If Julie did have a W-L record, it would be impeccable.
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