On Jan. 7, the Goshen College dean’s list was released for the fall 2025 semester. The dean’s list honors students who achieve a 3.75 GPA or higher throughout a semester. This year, 69 student-athletes appeared on the dean’s list. This is a 23% increase in student-athletes on the list compared to the fall of 2024.

Of these student-athletes, there are 24 soccer players, 13 softball and baseball players, 10 track and field and cross-country athletes, nine volleyball players, five tennis players and three bowlers. 

Brenna Spangler, a senior nursing major, is a member of the women’s volleyball team and has been on the dean’s list every semester she has been at GC. Spangler also received an academic All-Crossroads League distinction for her work in the classroom throughout the season.

Over these semesters, Spangler has put a lot of effort into maintaining a healthy balance between academics, athletics and her personal life. “It’s definitely a lot of time management. I’ve had to practice a lot,” she said. “Moving from high school to college is a big change in workload,” Spangler added. “I also take breaks for myself, which I think is why I’ve been so successful in both academics and sports.”

Out of her seven semesters at GC, Spangler has been in season for four of them. With volleyball usually playing twice a week, this gives Spangler less time in her schedule. “[During] every bit of free time, I’m going to work towards these assignments that I have to do,” she said. Over the past three years, volleyball practices occurred in the morning. “[That] never really impacted being able to do work after classes,” she said. 

Spangler credits the nursing program for her success in the classroom, highlighting the importance of study tables. She said, “We could ask questions and [upperclassmen] would basically just give us the information that they thought was important.” She also noted the openness of the nursing program and professors’ willingness to help students.

Spangler was one of five women’s volleyball players who achieved academic All-Crossroads honors. She described inclusion on such lists as an honor. She also recognizes the culture of academic excellence amongst her teammates, who were awarded the Womens Team GPA Award at the Leafys, GC’s annual sports award show, in September. 

“I think a lot of girls on the team value their academics, so it’s nice to be around people who have the same values as you. It’s always hard to put time and effort into stuff when you’re hanging out with people who don’t understand the sacrifices that you have to make,” Spangler said.

Spangler looks back on her achievements in the classroom with pride. “Even in high school, I was always striving to be someone who does really well. It’s [rewarding] to see all these hours that I’m putting towards school — the late nights, the stressful days and the sacrifices I made — [being] actually worth something,” she said.

One staff menber who has been central to the development of student athletes in the classrooms is Jesse Loewen, the associate director of academic success at GC. Loewen works extensively with athletes in the Academic Success Center, located in the Harold and Wilma Good Library. Loewen recognizes the hard work of the student-athlete support system.

“I’m very proud of the ASC, [the] supportive professors, our coaching staff and others like Brooke [Lemmon] and our training staff. It really takes effort from everyone to varying degrees, but it’s so rewarding to see the hard work our student-athletes put in,” Loewen said.

One of the highlights for Loewen this year was the academic pre-season that was held for the men’s soccer team. This gave him the opportunity to learn more about the squad — both from a personal and an academic perspective. “ASC staff loved it, and I know the guys, whether they wanted to be there or not, got something out of it,” he said.

Noah Gray is a first-year soccer player from Wellington, New Zealand. He appeared as one of nine first-years on the dean’s list. He credits the academic pre-season for getting him off the ground in the beginning of his college education. 

Gray said, “Jesse, Michelle [Blank] and Isacc [Hernandez] helped a lot with familiarizing us with the way they do classes, teaching us MLA, how to take notes and the way you write essays.”

Whilst Gray benefitted from the academic pre-season, he claims that the ASC helped him get on his feet away from the classroom. “Although these were great, the most important part was them familiarizing us with the campus and the people here. Jesse, Michelle and Isacc are all so nice and helped a lot,” Gray said.