Miami Ohio University Athletics
Straight A-Team: Tersee Nande
6/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 9, 2008
OXFORD, Ohio - This is the fifth in a series of 16 features about Miami University's brightest student-athletes. Their exceptional academic performance during the recently completed spring semester earned them a spot on the roster of the RedHawks' exclusive Straight A Team. In addition to their rigorous schedules on the athletic fields, each of these individuals earned a perfect 4.0 grade-point average this past semester. Overall, during the 2007-08 academic year, Miami's 500-plus student-athletes earned an impressive cumulative 3.0 GPA in the classroom.
Grand Rapids, Michigan native and new graduate Tersee Nande rounded out his final semester at Miami with a perfect 4.0 and a degree in Social Work. He finishes his academic career at Miami close to a stellar 3.00 cumulative GPA.
Love and support from his parents were key regarding Nande's motivation for academic success, and he surely made them proud with his graduation this past May.
"I just have a strong desire to learn, it comes from my parents and my upbringing... they were very hard on me to do well in school and always helped me with my homework growing up."
Nande's success in the classroom came as no surprise to Coach Montgomery "Tersee did a tremendous job each semester. Where you have some guys that put it together for a semester here and there, it seems like Tersee's GPA jumped every semester." Montgomery also added that Nande, "really put a lot of effort and hard work into getting his degree, taking a lot of classroom hours the past couple semesters to make sure he graduated on time."
Nande became interested in Social Work after arriving at Miami and through the influence of his friends. He feels that the education he has received in the Family Studies (Social Work) program has allowed him to approach problems in different ways and left him feeling more comfortable in his post-graduate endeavors.
One of the last, and most challenging, classes Nande took his last semester was Social Work Practice II, a course which prepares students for baccalaureate level social work through a focus on the interactions between environment, groups and communities. Of course, he aced it.
This summer, Nande will no doubt use what he learned in Social Work Practice II as he plans to do some social work around his hometown Grand Rapids area. Specifically, he wants to work at his local YMCA, combining both his academic and athletic interests.
Nande will also be working to gain a roster spot on an Arena Football League team; we wish him, and all new Miami Alumni, the best of luck in all of their future endeavors.
