As Jillian Drouin prepares for the upcoming Big East Indoor Championships, the Syracuse senior will no doubt be focused on adding another title to her already impressive resume.

However, even if Drouin fails to capture a crown in the high jump or heptathlon, she’s already earned an honor before the events even began. On Feb. 5 Drouin won the Big East Female Scholar-Athlete of the year award. A total of 17 schools entered athletes and participated in hopes of winning, but Drouin was the final selection.

‘It was always a goal of mine when I had seen other seniors getting it,’ Drouin said. ‘It was something that I was striving for.’

Throughout Drouin’s career she has experienced a considerable amount of success. The senior from Corunna, Ontario has competed in the Big East Championships every year since arriving on campus.

She will compete in the event for a fourth time this weekend, when Drouin and the rest of the Orange travel to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Indoor Championships.

As well as an excellent resume booster, the award also carries a $4,000 scholarship. Despite the prize and honor, for Drouin, the focus remains on performing well at big time events. The awards do provide acknowledgment and respect, but they are not something Drouin thinks about while competing.

‘It’s not that it carries high importance for me,’ Drouin said. ‘I don’t get too upset if I don’t get (the award) because I know that I am doing a lot of this for myself. It’s a good feeling in my own, and it’s nice to be recognized. But to me it’s just an extra perk when you get things like that.’

Besides her academic award, Drouin’s feats on the track speak for themselves. She is the Big East’s reigning heptathlon champion and as a result won the Outdoor Big East Most Outstanding Field Performer in 2007.

Drouin’s performance not only paved the way for an individual trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, but also provided her an opportunity to enter the record books. Drouin tore down the Syracuse and Big East record for points scored in the heptathlon at last year’s Big East Championships with 5,890.

Drouin was nominated for the award by Syracuse and heard the news when the Big East Conference sent out a press release. The Big East Conference is not the only outlet that has honored Drouin as an excellent scholar-athlete. Last season, Drouin’s name appeared on the First Team of ESPN the Magazine’s list of Academic All-District Athletes.

‘We’ll it’s fairly amazing to me because you think every school having at least 10 sports,’ Fox said. ‘All 10 of those sports probably having at least 40 kids on it, that adds up. Four, five or 600 athletes in the Big East and she’s the best scholar-athlete. It’s a big deal.’

During Drouin’s four years at Syracuse she’s proven that consistency, both on and off the track, is a main component of her personality as an athlete and a person. Since arriving on campus, Drouin qualified for the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll every semester.

‘It’s hard to see what is going to be the future for you,’ Drouin said. ‘It’s a long time and a lot of work can be put in four years when you’re practicing everyday. It’s wasn’t something I necessarily foretold, but I knew if I wanted it bad enough and worked hard enough it’s something I could have accomplished. I think when I first came in and just starting heptathlons I never thought that I would excel that quickly at it.’

Drouin’s heptathlon prowess continued even as the level of competition got harder. Two seasons ago, Drouin qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the heptathlon and placed 24th. Just one season later, Drouin jumped all the way to All-American status as she placed third in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Although this season’s results remain to be seen, her goal is to win the heptathlon while putting in a good showing at the high jump as well.

But it takes more than prowess on the track to earn the Big East’s scholar/athlete award.

‘She is very good on the track,’ teammate Sheron Mark said. ‘But she’s into a lot of extracurricular activity, and she gets people involved. She does Students Across Boarders and partakes in various charities. I think she’s a very good example of a Big East Scholar-Athlete.’

hscrowle@syr.edu

Published on February 21, 2008 at 12:00 pm