UH kinesiology senior Seun Adigun will represent the Cougars at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships in Tulsa, Okla., but there’s one problem: the dates of the championship meet eclipse Adigun’s graduation ceremony.
‘It is very important for me and my family,’ said Adigun. ‘My father is coming from Nigeria to see me graduate.’
Adigun is the three-time C-USA 60-meter hurdles champion. She speaks four languages (English, Yoruba, Spanish and Arabic) and was the recipient of the 2009 Spirit of Service Award.
In March, when Adigun realized her race for the conference title landed on the same date as her graduation ceremony, she contacted the dean’s office for the College of Education and requested to walk on an alternate date.
‘We had no alternate date,’ College of Education Dean Robert Wimpelberg said. ‘We explored the option of her walking in another college’s ceremony, but that doesn’t make sense.’
So Wimpelberg suggested holding a separate graduation ceremony for Adigun.
‘It sounds fun. And it’s the right thing to do,’ Wimpelberg said.
Sophia Flot-Warner, development coordinator for the College of Education, said Adigun’s circumstance is a rare event.
‘This is truly a one of kind ceremony,’ Flot-Warner said. ‘We normally would never entertain these kinds of ideas and probably would never again – but Adigun is representing the school in a major collegiate event, and it is very important for her and family coming from Nigera. ‘
Adigun said she is thankful and excited about the opportunity.
‘I am eternally grateful for what Dean Wimpelberg is doing,’ Adigun said. ‘Honestly, I couldn’t pick a better team. Forever and a day, I will be proud to be a Cougar.’
The graduation ceremony conflict is representative of just one of many obligations that student-athletes’ have to juggle. Adigun said there is often a misconception that athletes are on easy street when it comes to academics.
She said that on the contrary, once students disclose they are athletes, some teachers view them in a more critical light than other students.
‘Sometimes I make a point to not tell them I am an athlete, but a student whose main focus is academics,’ she said.
Adigun said she shares this advice with her freshmen teammates.
‘I constantly remind them we have tutoring sessions and study-hall hours,’ she said. ‘Some of the struggles come from the need to prioritize, break each subject down, make calendars, be organized and write down important test dates.’
Grecia Bolton, a freshmen on the UH track team, said she’s found being organized is key.
‘It comes down to time management,’ Bolton said. ‘We know what time practice is, and we just have work around it and know when we are missing class for an out-of-town meet.
‘Most of us finish practice and run upstairs to computer lab for tutoring and things of that nature, so we don’t have to go all the way home. It does become hectic.’
Grecia said the college experience has been a transition.
‘Last semester was little hard with the transition from high school to college,’ she said. ‘It’s getting the habit. I am used to it now – how to deal with school work and track at the same time.’
Wimpelberg said he understands the juggling act students such as Adigun perform.
‘(Adigun) is graduating, and it’s very important to her and her family. Its not her problem but one created by her representing the University,’ he said. ‘So we are going to have a little gathering and make up a ceremony.’
Her graduation ceremony will be held May 6 at the Farish Hall, Kiva Room.
