March 28, 2006

Anderson named March Student of the Month

Along with being an All-American track athlete, Cowley College sophomore Veronica Anderson also excels in the classroom.

Anderson, the daughter of Diana Anderson, has been named Cowley’s March Student of the Month. She has an older brother, Jonathan, 21.

Anderson, a pre-nursing major, was surprised to receive the honor.

“I did not expect to get it,” Anderson said. “It seems that the things I am doing are starting to pay off.”

The list of things Anderson is doing is numerous as she is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, President of the Black Student Union, and resident assistant of the Kirke Dale Dormitory.

She was the featured speaker at this years’ Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration of Unity event and has been instrumental in all of the Black Student Union events on campus. She is also considered one of the hardest workers on the track and field team.

“Veronica is an excellent student and a model citizen,” Cowley Dean of Student Life Sue Saia said. “She upholds high ethics in all that she does. As an athlete, she is a wonderful example to others of how to organize her time and her many commitments.”

Anderson was named to the National Vocational Honor Society her senior year at Ardmore (Okla.) High School, and won a state title in the shot put as a senior.

At Cowley, Anderson is a returning All-American in the hammer throw. Tiger track and field head coach Mark Phillips has enjoyed working with Anderson.

“She works her rear end off, and makes everybody around her better,” Phillips said. “She is the first one at practice and the last one to leave practice. The kids on the team have a lot of respect for her. She is the kind of kid you wish you had for four years.”

Anderson, who enjoys going to church and writing short stories in her free time, credits several individuals with helping her become successful at Cowley.

“God, Mrs. (Marlys) Cervantes, Mr. (Tom) Mason, and my roommate Tamara (McMillan) are the four people that keep me in line and help me get through college,” Anderson said.

Cervantes is Anderson’s foster parent at Cowley, while Mason serves as an extended foster parent.

Anderson has some unfinished business she would like to complete before her track and field career is over at Cowley. She has her sights on throwing over 50 feet in the weight throw, over 170 feet in the hammer, and more than 41 feet in the shot put.

She is undecided where she will go after Cowley, but would like to continue her track career at a school with a good nursing program.

“I’m really going to miss Cowley because I have gotten used to this routine,” Anderson said. “I don’t want the school year to hurry up and get over.”