Rowing's Tara Montgomery Named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar
Montgomery is one of 34 student-athletes honored from across the nation.
Montgomery, one of 34 student-athletes included in this year's special report, was chosen from more than 1,200 nominated minority student-athletes across the nation. The award recognizes student-athletes who have excelled in academics, in their sport and through involvement on campus and in the community.
"Her academic success and community service involvement, which helped her to earn the Arthur Ashe Jr. award again, have also resulted in acceptances at some very prestigious schools for a master’s degree in social work," head rowing coach Bill Zack said. "It will be exciting to follow Tara’s success once she graduates and continues to achieve great things in her life."
In order to be eligible for the award, student-athletes must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.2, be an active member of an intercollegiate athletic team throughout the 2017-18 school year and must be active on their campus or in the community.
During her time at SDSU, the senior has been a member of the rowing team’s first and second varsity eight crews as a starboard rower. Montgomery was named an American Athletic Conference All-Academic honoree for both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
Montgomery is currently majoring in psychology with a minor in counseling and social change, and intends to pursue a Ph.D. in social work or clinical psychology with an emphasis in forensic psychology. She has been accepted to the programs at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Berkeley.
In addition to her role as student-athlete, Montgomery has been active in the community and currently interns with San Diego County Probation office as a correctional counselor. She serves as a mentor for the Alliance for HOPE International and has worked with the Community Research Foundation with adults with mental illness and those at risk for mental illness.
In addition to Montgomery, recent Aztec team honorees include Natilee Ruiz (swimming and diving), Nika Sedghi (water polo) and Paul Pitts (football), who was also selected as the 2016 Male Sports Scholar of the Year. A full list of 2018 team winners will be announced on April 5 when the special report is published in Diverse.
