Here’s why there’s hope

On Sports

By kerry eggers

The Portland Tribune, Jun 16, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

KINSELLA

ADVERTISEMENTS

So you’re worried about the quality of today’s collegiate student-athlete, with those too-frequent headlines raging about academic improprieties, malfeasant behavior, cheating and/or just plain lousy comportment?

Well, me, too.

But David Kinsella and Liz Doran give me hope.

Kinsella, 23, recently graduated from the University of Portland with a 3.96 GPA in biology. He’ll be off to Stanford in August to begin three years of work on a law degree.

Doran, 22, is a graduate of Crescent Valley High in Corvallis who recently completed her undergrad work at Santa Clara with a 3.93 GPA in bioengineering. She’ll enroll Saturday in a four-year doctorate program at Idaho.

Last week, Kinsella and Doran were named the male and female recipients of the sixth annual West Coast Conference’s postgraduate scholarship award. Both will be given $5,000 to help with their postgraduate studies.

Kinsella was one of the best runners in UP history, a three-time All-American who won the WCC cross-country title as a senior last fall.

“David’s not just a runner, though, obviously,” Pilot coach Rob Conner says.

Kinsella’s not just an egghead, either. Neither is the 6-foot Doran, a two-year starting shooting guard at Santa Clara who was second on the Broncos in scoring and led the team in 3-pointers as a senior this season.

“Liz was a fine player for us, but she was just a fantastic student-athlete,” says Jason Stock, the academic support manager for Santa Clara men’s and women’s basketball. “She was a great member of the team for the last four years, both on and off the court.”

Kinsella, a Redmond, Wash., native, had three A-minuses in his five years at The Bluff.

Doran got one B and a few A-minuses during her time at Santa Clara. “I kind of got the hang of the school thing,” she says with a laugh.

That despite a grueling academic regimen that left her wanting for 30-hour days.

“It was doable,” Doran says. “The thing that gets pushed in the side is social life a little bit.

“I give a lot of credit to the coaches and to Jason for scheduling practice around my labs. I ended up taking a lot of labs in the springtime. My sophomore year I had four labs, one for just about every afternoon of the week.”

Doran thinks she would like to teach or go to medical school. Kinsella is keeping his options open, too.

“I’m going to take a strong, hard look at environmental law,” he says. “It’s between that and technology law. I’m interested in intellectual property and personal liberties in the context of the Internet. I want to go down (to Stanford), get my hands on things and see what really strikes my fancy.”

1 | 2 Next Page >>