Posted at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 01, 2001
Scholar-athletes win Bonham awards
Advertiser Staff
Roosevelt graduate Andrea Nishioka and Nerijus Puida, a graduate of Kudirkos Naumiestis in Lithuania, were honored as the University of Hawai'i's 2001 Jack Bonham Award winners.
The awards were announced at this morning's Scholar-Athlete breakfast at Stan Sheriff Center. More than a quarter of the school's 450 student-athletes attended after qualifying for scholar-athlete status.
The Bonham Award, named after the late UH athletic director, is the athletic department's most prestigious honor. It is given annually to the senior female and male athletes who exhibit "academic and athletic excellence, character and community service."
This month, Nishioka will be the first four-year graduate of the four-year old Wahine water polo program. Her aunt, Roosevelt teacher Susan Nishioka, was the primary force in starting the sport at UH.
Andrea has been the Wahine captain, and starter at the crucial 2-meter position, the past two seasons. She will leave her name among the UH leaders in all major categories.
Nishioka has also been a Presidential Scholar and member of the conference's all-academic team the past three years and earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average last semester. She is a long-time volunteer at Månoa Rec Center and has helped develop junior water polo programs in the state.
Puida, a senior forward on the UH men's basketball team, helped the Rainbows to the Western Athletic Conference championship this season. He started both years after transferring – with wife and Wahine basketball player Dainora Puida – from Weatherford College in Texas.
Puida has been a scholar-athlete both years at UH and holds a 3.8 GPA in international business and marketing. He plans to graduate next May.
The 123 scholar-athletes honored this morning represent a 10-percent increase over last year. To qualify, student-athletes needed a cumulative or two-semester GPA of 3.0 or higher. Freshmen and transfer students needed a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher .
