Lady Eagle -Nayoka Clunis

NAYOKA CLUNIS EARNS PERFECT GPA

 

Fresh off earning double BSc. degrees from the University of Minnesota, former Excelsior Eagle sports star, Nayoka Clunis, has scored a perfect Grade Point Average (GPA) in the Fall semester at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Nayoka--a former 4-year Excelsior netball captain and track and field vice captain--continued to elevate her academic performance with another stellar achievement following graduation in Spring 2020 from the University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development with a BS Business Marketing & Education and a BS Human Resource & Development.

Without missing a step, Nayoka, a three event competitor-hammer throw, shotput and discus-now in her final year of NCAA eligibility, registered a perfect GPA in her first semester at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where she is pursuing a Master ‘s Degree in Sports Leadership, Education and Communication.

Although this is the first time earning the coveted perfect GPA for Nayoka, a perennial Dean’s List awardee, she had come within a hair’s breadth of earning the academic accolade at her previous stops at Cloud Community College and the University of Minnesota.

The ongoing success story is particularly gratifying for the indomitable student-athlete, the arc of whose life has been one shadowed by tragedy and acute personal challenges. At seven years old she was buffeted by the tragic death of her single-mother, Michelle Morgan, herself an Excelsiorian

Yet throughout her journey, Nayoka says she has benefited from the kindness and support of a coterie of individuals in the Excelsior fraternity, both at home and in the Diaspora, who have rallied to her aid.

She has kind words for the late vice principal, Mrs. Colleen Walker, Principal Bromfield, Mrs Florence Cargill, Mrs Maylor-Brown, Mrs Gordon, Nurse Darby, her coach Michael Vassell and a number of alumni, including Donna Myrie and Charles Ellis, among a long list of benefactors who have provided support and guidance along the way.

The year 2021 promises to be a pivotal one for Nayoka. In the rearview mirror, the success of a determined individual who was tested by adversity; on the road ahead, the dream of making Jamaica's Olympic team and completing the Master's Degree.

Kudos to Nayoka Clunis - An Excelsior Eagle Soaring Yet Higher.

By Duane Coombs- Tuesday, January 27, 2021

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