Jackson Named Scholar-Athlete By NJSIAA

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) honored West Deptford senior Joshua Jackson as one of its scholar-athletes for 2011 at its recent awards luncheon.

Jackson, along with 334 other athletes, was recognized for both his success in the classroom and on the field.

Besides being a soccer player and track and field athlete, Jackson is vice-president of the National Honor Society and a member of the World Language National Honor Society. He’s planning to study math and physics at the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.

Since the program’s inception in 1993, the NJSIAA has honored more than 5,700 high school scholar-athletes and presented more than $1 million in scholarships.

NJSIAA Executive Director Steve Timko said the event epitomizes what his organization tries to do.

“The scholar-athletes we recognize at this luncheon are among the highest-achieving, most athletically-talented high school students in New Jersey,” Timko said. “They are a credit to their schools, their families and their communities, and the NJSIAA is proud to honor them.”

Officials at each NJSIAA member high school have the opportunity to select one senior student as their scholar-athlete of the year.

The scholarships, donated by NJSIAA corporate sponsors and other organizations supportive of high school sports in New Jersey, are awarded by random drawings.

All the scholar-athletes’ names are entered in the drawings for all scholarships for which they are eligible. While some scholarships are only available to students attending schools in specific counties or participating in specific sports, most are offered statewide to students in all sports.