Basketball player Katie Schneider recognized at two University award ceremonies
San Jose, Calif.-----Twice in a three-day span, Katie Schneider of the San Jose State University women's basketball team was a scholarship recipient at a major university awards function.
At the annual Tower Awards presentation on Saturday, May 4, Schneider, a senior majoring in recreation and leisure studies, was named the winner of the 2002 Robert & Ellen Baron Student Leadership Award. The award includes a $5,000 scholarship.
"Katie is one of the university president’s five student interns. Part of her job is to meet with student organizations and clubs serving as a student liaison. These student interns help set up campus tours, prepare the university for the annual safety walk around the campus and perform a number of important university functions," said Gabe Reyes, assistant to the president for campus climate at San Jose State University. "Katie does an outstanding job in her role as a president’s intern."
On Monday, May 6, the Oelwein, Iowa resident was one of nine winners of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts’ "Dean’s Undergraduate Scholarships." Winners are selected based on academic performance in their major field and for all university classes. The Student Affairs Committee of the Applied Sciences and Arts forwards eligible candidates to the Dean of the college, Michael M. Ego, for selection.
Schneider, a 6-foot-5 center on the 2001 and 2002 Spartan women’s basketball teams, has been president, of the Recreation Students Association. She has been a volunteer for Special Olympics, serves on the university’s Campus Climate Committee and has mentored needy students.
Bill Walsh and Paul Sakuma, two individuals with Division of Intercollegiate Athletics connections, were recognized as "Distinguished Alumni" at the College of Applied Sciences and Arts Awards program. Walsh, a physical education major who graduated in 1954, went on to earn his master’s degree in 1958, coached the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl victories and was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Sakuma, a journalism major who graduated in 1977, joined the Associated Press as a staff photographer. He is a founding member of the Asian American Journalists Association and is president of the Bay Area Press Photographer Association. Sakuma often supplies photographs for San Jose State University athletics publications.