Linfield students Tahnijo Kakazu ’19 and Cameron Ventura ’21 have been honored as Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholars. Ventura competes on the Linfield tennis team and Kakazu on the swim team.
The Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholar Award, sponsored by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, honors undergraduate students of color for their success in intercollegiate sports, in the classroom and in the community. Linfield is one of only two Oregon colleges to have students honored for the award.
Ventura, an exercise science major, was awarded an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete award last year. He has also won nine of his 12 doubles matches this season.
“To be named an Arthur Ashe scholar is of course an honor, but it’s extremely special to me because I play tennis and Arthur Ashe was a tennis player,” Ventura said. “To earn an award that recognizes me for my academic achievement, as well as my athletic achievement that is also named after a tennis great is surreal to me.”
Kakazu, a math major and economics minor, is in her fourth year with the Linfield swim program and holds the school record in the 50-yard freestyle. She was also a member of the 200-yard freestyle relay, the 400-yard medley relay, the 400-yard freestyle relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay teams that all hold Linfield records. Kakazu holds top-ten times in seven Linfield events.
“It is such a great honor to be selected as an Arthur Ashe scholar, and I am so proud to be able to represent Linfield College in this way,” said Kakazu, who also works with the McMinnville’s Kids on the Block after school program. “Linfield has helped me by really stressing the importance of the ‘student’ in ‘student-athlete,’ and I have been able to receive a great education because of the small class sizes and at the same time, I have had the privilege of competing in the sport I love.”
“Diverse: Issues in Higher Education” sponsors the Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholar Awards to honor undergraduate students who have excelled in the classroom as well as on the athletic field. Inspired by tennis legend Arthur Ashe, Jr.’s commitment to education and excellence on the tennis court, the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars must exhibit academic excellence and community activism as well as athletic ability. To be included, students must compete in an intercollegiate sport, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher, be at least a sophomore and be active on their campuses or in their communities.
