(Portions of this story courtesy of Colorado
College)
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – In exclusive voting by the
senior woman administrators of the conference, Kaleb
Roush of Colorado College has been selected as the 2014
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Man of the Year.
Roush, a captain on the Colorado College men’s swimming
& diving team, was an all-conference perfomer in the 400
individual medley as a junior in 2013 and graduates owning school
records in two events - the 400 IM and the 1,000 yard
freestyle.
Earlier this week, Roush capped his impressive collegiate career
by earning a place on the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America
Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of
America (CoSIDA).
Roush, who was a third-team selection, became the second member of
CC's men's swimming and diving program to receive the highly
competitive national award since it began in 1952. He joined former
teammate Jordan DeGayner who was honored in 2011 and 2012.
A native of Windsor, Colo., Roush compiled a 3.99 grade-point
average and graduated on May 19 with a bachelor's degree in
biochemistry and a minor in mathematics.
Roush sees great similarities in his two loves - science and
swimming - as both are defined as goal- and detail-oriented
pursuits.
"The goal of my Biochemistry studies has been to know - to know
the details of how the human body functions," said Roush. "However,
over the past four years this perhaps simplistic sentiment has
matured, tempered by my liberal arts education and my experiences
at Colorado College."
As Roush continued his education at Colorado College, these two
passions morphed from simply participation opportunites to more
involved leadership opportunities.
"As a member of the swim team and SAAC, I had great opportunities
to participate in annual fundraisers for cancer: the Hour of Power,
which raises money for sarcoma cancer research, and the Quony Cup,
a soccer tournament that raises money for the American Cancer
Society in honor of two Colorado College athletes who lost their
battles to cancer," said Roush. "These membership roles turned into
leadership roles when I was elected captain and vice-president of
these respective groups. These experiences taught me that
scientists cannot exist removed from the world in their
laboratories. To be effective, a dialogue that extends beyond
scientific passion must exist with the community. A scientist must
grasp a wider context of his field so that communication can occur
with people in other disciplines. I believe this perspective is
necessary in light of today's groundbreaking scientific
discoveries."
It's no surprise that Roush was named the college's outstanding
senior in biochem considering his long history as a student worker
and a research assistant in CC's science departments.
He served as a research and laboratory assistant in the college's
biology and physics departments, beginning as a learning assistant
and FYE mentor in the fall of 2012. More recently, his duties have
included directing and supervising student usage of the college's
atomic force microscope, as well as analyzing the quality and
utility of the data generated by students.
Roush's research included investigating the morphological and
physiological roles of five different genes expressed during
long-term stationary phase in Acinetobacter
baylyi through atomic force microscopy, fluorescent
microscopy, and the generation of growth curves.
In 2012, Roush assisted in a summer research project with Murphy
Brasuel, associate professor in CC's Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry. The following year, he worked alongside Stephen
Dewhurst, professor in the Microbiology and Immunology Department
at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, researching HIV
vaccine development using nano particles.
Roush also had an outstanding career in the pool.
The senior co-captain posted three podium finishes and scored
points in four events at the 2014 Southern Collegiate Athletic
Conference Championships. He finished sixth in 400-yard individual
medley, eighth in 200 breaststroke and 12th in 200 IM.
At the 2013 conference meet, Roush set the school record in the
preliminaries of the 400 IM and finished third in the championship
final. He also took fifth in the 200 IM and sixth in the 200
butterfly.
Roush was named to the SCAC Academic Honor Roll each of his first
three seasons. The list of this year's honorees will be announced
later this month.
Roush was one of five outstanding nominees considered by the SCAC
Man of the Year Committee. The other candidates were:
- Daniel Poole, track & field, Southwestern University
- Nicholas Moreno, tennis, Trinity University
- Bradley Snowden, football, Texas Lutheran University
- Nathan Packard, football, Austin College
The SCAC Man of the Year award recognizes senior
student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their
collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics
excellence, service and leadership.
Roush is the second consecutive Colorado College student-athlete
to earn SCAC Man of the Year honors as Nick Lammers was the inaugural recipient of the award in
2013.
