28 Husker Student-Athletes Participate in Graduation Ceremonies

Lincoln ? The University of Nebraska athletic department is pleased to announce that a total of 28 current or former student-athletes participated in fall commencement ceremonies Saturday.

The graduating class features Nebraska’s two most recent academic All-Americans, as football players Chad Sievers (business administration) and Kellen Huston (pre-medicine/exercise science) pushed Nebraska’s nation-leading total to 219 academic All-Americans.

The duo highlighted 10 Husker football players who graduated on Saturday, joining Willie Amos (advertising), Jake Andersen (communication studies), Van Brownson (business administration), Dale Endorf (electrical engineering), Jeff McBride (agronomy), Chris Septak (economics), Alex Shada (communications studies) and Tyler Toline (mechanical engineering).

While all of the football players have wrapped up their collegiate careers, three Husker student-athletes are in their final collegiate seasons. Men’s basketball player John Turek (marketing) is a four-year starter for the Husker program, while women’s tennis standout Gitte Ostermann (advertising) and women’s gymnastics standout Jamie Saas (family and consumer science) are both among the nation’s best in their respective sports.

The class also featured two of Nebraska’s top student-athletes in recent years, as 2004 NCAA wrestling champion Jason Powell (sociology) and former baseball All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year Jed Morris (community health education) also participated Saturday’s graduation ceremonies.

This fall’s graduating class will be the newest addition to the Hall of Distinction in the Hewit Center, as the name of every graduating Husker student-athlete who has lettered and graduated is featured in the display. Over 4,600 letterwinners are featured in the West Stadium display that recognizes men’s programs dating back to 1890 and women’s programs dating back nearly three decades.

In all, 91 percent of Husker student-athletes who complete their eligibility receive their degree from the University of Nebraska, a total that leads the Big 12 Conference. A private graduation reception for student-athletes and their families was held at Memorial Stadium following Saturday’s commencement ceremony.

University of Nebraska 2004 Fall Semester Graduates

Sport	Name	Major	Hometown
Baseball	Bent, Andy	Elementary Education	Lincoln, Neb.
Baseball	Morris, Jed	Community Health Education	Clearlake, Texas
Basketball	Turek, John	Business Administration	Council Bluffs, Iowa
Football	Amos, Willie	Advertising	Sweetwater, Texas
Football	Andersen, Jake	Communication Studies	Littleton, Colo.
Football	Brownson, Van	Business Administration	Lincoln, Neb.
Football	Endorf, Dale	Electrical Engineering	Wichita, Kan.
Football	Huston, Kellen	Exercise Science	Ankeny, Iowa
Football	McBride, Jeff	Agronomy	Brule, Neb.
Football	Septak, Chris	Economics	Omaha, Neb.
Football	Shada, Alex	Communication Studies	Wahoo, Neb.
Football	Sievers, Chad	Business Administration	Valley, Neb.
Football	Toline, Tyler	Mechanical Engineering	Wahoo, Neb.
Swimming	Hahn, Jon	Mechanical Engineering	Longmount, Colo.
Tennis	Vargas, Cesar	International Business Marketing	Matzatlan, Mexico
Track & Field	Baker, Travis	Community Health Education	Hoxie, Kan.
Track & Field	Burns, Christopher	Management	Lincoln, Neb.
W Tennis	Harvey, Leslie	Advertising	San Diego, Calif.
W Tennis	Oehme, Anna	Sociology	Nykoping, Sweden
W Tennis	Ostermann, Gitte	Advertising	Lungberg, Germany
Bowling	Stewart, Melissa	Advertising	Polk, Neb.
Wrestling	Hill, Trevor	Chemical Engineering	Lincoln, Neb.
Wrestling	Powell, Jason	Sociology	Midwest City, Okla.
Softball	Bates, Briana	Business Administration	Lakewood, Colo.
W Track & Field	Jones, Alison	Elementary Education	Omaha, Neb.
W Track & Field	Wolken, Emily	Elementary Education	Garnett, Kan.
Volleyball	Baumstark, Rachel;	Business Administration	Hermann, Mo.
W Gymnastics	Saas, Jamie	Family and Consumer Science	Aurora, Ill.