By: Herb Shoveller

While maintaining a 90s average is not a small feat for most post-secondary students, it's even more impressive when accomplished by a varsity student-athlete. 
 
This fall, 253 University of Waterloo student-athletes were honoured for their academic achievements, each receiving the Academic All-Canadians by Fairfax Awards. The sum of these achievements is the best in the University's history and tops Ontario says Roly Webster, director of athletics and recreation.
 
"We are fortunate to have coaches who put academics first," said Webster. "With the help of our senior leadership team, I believe we have an environment that not only demands academic performance, but can also provide the proper support to be successful."
 
Amongst the recipients is varsity runner and fifth-year biochemistry student Stephanie Ryall (Hamilton/Female), earning an average of 97.8 per cent in fourth year.

 
With both her parents as teachers and avid runners themselves, Ryall's love of learning and athletics comes honestly.
 
"I have been involved with running since Grade 5 or 6. I think the competitive running translated into being competitive in school," said Ryall. "I have always been passionate about education."
 
Ryall trains daily, running about 100 kilometres a week, including a 20-kilometre run on Sundays.
 
Following Ryall's graduation in spring 2020, the young athlete hopes to pursue an MD-PhD program.
 
MacKenzie and Kennedy Strong (Mississauga), twin brothers, were also honoured with Fairfax awards. MacKenzie's average was 97.5 per cent, while Kennedy checked in at 98.83 per cent. Both are in their second-year of chemical engineering and remain active varsity baseball players —MacKenzie a centre fielder and Kennedy a pitcher.
 
"Growing-up, school and sport were priorities in our family," said MacKenzie. "We tried other sports when we were younger, but by Grade 10, we decided to concentrate on baseball."

Mirroring their parent's athletic talents (their father a hockey player and their mother a swimmer), the twins considered an education south of the boarder, but were both influenced to stay in Canada because of Waterloo's strong reputation. 
 
"There were conversations about going to the U.S. for ball, but we decided it would be smarter, wiser to stay here," said MacKenzie. "Choosing Waterloo was not hard. There is a better quality of education here."

 

Attaining such gaudy academic numbers takes a deep passion for both education and athletics — and sometimes a little brotherly competition helps, too.
 
"As for education, we push each other in friendly competition," said MacKenzie.
 
"Your goal is not to be better. It is more along the lines of a team mentality," countered Kennedy.

"We had no pressure growing up in academics," MacKenzie continued. "Our parents did not push us. We just enjoy studying. We enjoy seeing the application of the materials we are studying and the outcomes are meaningful. We are even more motivated to see future applications."
 
Bob Lemieux, dean of science at Waterloo, has a special respect for these accomplished athletes; he had a leg in both camps as a student-athlete in football at Colgate University in the U.S.
 
"Among the biggest traits of these students is that they are absolutely highly motivated and focused," said Lemieux. "They are special people. They also have to respond well to walls and barriers and be resilient. It's a great challenge to have the highest academic standards and then take on intense training."
 
Lemieux points to his own experience at Colgate to reinforce his point about these Waterloo athletes being special.
 
"In my fourth year, I dropped out of football," he said, noting he was not performing at the academic level he wanted. "My grade-point average skyrocketed in my fourth year. So, those kids are pretty exceptional. I would argue most started out first as athletes and high achievers and they applied this competitive skill to academics."
 
In his remarks at the event honouring the student-athletes, Webster went on to recognize Waterloo's leadership for their commitment to promoting academic and athletic success. In particular, he mentioned Jim Rush, vice-president and academic provost, Chris Read associate provost of students and Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor.
 
"Waterloo student-athletes are performing exceptionally well on the field and in the classroom at one of the most academically intensive universities in the world," noted Hamdullahpur. "It's great to be number one in Ontario, but we want to be number one in Canada and Waterloo is the place to do that."
 
Overall, 80 per cent of Warriors have averages above 70 per cent, making Waterloo athletes all-stars, all around.