JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University swimmer
Jonathan Key has been named as a recipient of the 2013 Wilma Rudolph Award, given by the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics at their recent national conference.
The N4A Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award honors student-athletes who have overcome great personal, academic, and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics. Key (Jr., Biltmore Lakes, N.C.), despite having being diagnosed with severe dyslexia at the age of seven, has been able to thrive both in and out of the pool while at NSU.
He brought a resume of 11 school records, four conference records and one county and state record from Carolina Day School, and at the most recent Sunshine State Conference Championships, achieved two personal-best times on his way to top-10 finishes in both events.
"My mom would always tell me that it was never a disability, that it was a gift," said Key. "And so, my whole life, my parents have raised me that way and I've grown up telling myself that. It's not a negative thing at all, I just think about things differently than other people. It's just something I have to live with."
Key was nominated by Dr. C.A. Tolchinsky, NSU's Manager of Student-Athlete Academic Services. In her letter of recommendation, Tolchinsky spoke about Key's struggles his freshman year, and how the two of them utilized many campus resources (including the Athletic Academic Success Program, Office of Disability Services, Office of Career Development, the Office of Academic Services and the Office of Undergraduate Student Success) in his major of criminal justice.
"Jonathan's GPA has steadily risen throughout his time at NSU," continued Tolchinsky. "He has grown into a diligent student-athlete, who looks forward to attending classes and learning more about the field of criminal justice. He is excited about his future career and has recently applied for an internship in this field. Jonathan is a true example of a successful student-athlete who utilized campus resources to excel."
"Jonathan's first year was very challenging for him, in all aspects of it," said head swimming coach Hollie Bonewit-Cron. "The summer after his freshman year, I wasn't sure if Jonathan would be coming back."
But due to his and Tolchinsky's efforts, along with all of the resources of the school, not only did Key come back, he will return to the pool for his senior season beginning this fall and is on track to graduate in four years.
"Once he had the backing and felt like he had the support from everyone around him, he started getting better and better," said Bonewit-Cron. "He's more confident, he walks around (now) with a little more swagger and it's nice to see. He wasn't like that his freshman year, and to see that now his junior year going into his senior year, it's fun to coach someone who has that awareness, who has that initiative, and who has a lot of pride in what he does."
For the latest NSU news and results, be sure to visit
www.NSUSharks.com. To have results sent directly to your cell phone via text message, sign up for SMS text message delivery by
clicking here. For the latest news, be sure to sign up for the Shark Alert E-newsletter by
clicking here.
