College students determine success in different ways. For some, it’s evolving from apprehensiveness to feeling comfortable in new social settings. For others, it’s eclipsing athletic aspirations. For most at MSU, success ultimately means balancing personal goals with the constant demand of academics.
It’s human nature to try to emulate success — especially when that success happens to live in your neighborhood. At a university like MSU, student athletes are typically a source of success stories. In terms of setting benchmarks on the field or court, the Spartans have been recognized nationally for having high standards. From the men’s basketball team, reaching at least the Sweet Sixteen in five of the last six years, to being Big Ten champs in football the past two years, the success is as evident as it is consistent.
What seems to fly under the radar in the standout image of Spartan athletics is the success achieved outside the lines. In the first seven seasons under football head coach Mark Dantonio, 87 student athletes have been named Academic All-Big Ten selections. Under basketball head coach Tom Izzo, 81 percent of the Spartan student athletes who completed their eligibility graduated. Overall, MSU has had a student athlete graduation rate of 85 percent. If their athletic accomplishments are eye-popping, their academic achievements are astounding.
One story that will always be held on a pedestal is that of a Spartan senior last year who followed through with his goals in academics and sports and kept others in mind along the way. When Adreian Payne declared he was turning down a chance to be a high lottery pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, he wasn’t so much turning down a guaranteed salary of $1 to $4 million dollars that fall as he was continuing his journey toward earning a degree. It was a promise he’d made to his grandmother, who died two years prior.
As the country knows, Payne’s presence at MSU during his final year not only upgraded his NBA draft stock, and was not only a goal reached in the classroom, but it changed the heart and life of 8-year-old cancer patient Lacey Holsworth. In the last difficult months of her life, Payne gave her anything but pain. Just by staying in school, Payne was able to give her joy she desperately needed.
It is one of those once-in-a-decade stories of a college athlete. By not giving up on academic aspirations, his actions turned out to make a lasting impact on his life and so many others.
Students at MSU, regardless of the goals they pursue after textbooks are shoved aside, can look to current and former campus athletes, who have come to serve as prominent role models.
Kevin Lange is an intern at The State News. Reach him a opinion@statenews.com.
