marquette's ridgeway teaches student athletes to aim high
By: Parreon Reid
Helping students pursue their dreams is how Adrienne Ridgeway describes her passion.
Ridgeway is the associate athletic director for academic services and life skills at Marquette University. Ridgeway’s academic scheduling and advisement helps students athletes really strive to be their best. Ridgeway, a 12-year employee of Marquette, previously held the position of assistant athletic director for academic services and life skills before being promoted.
While playing sports at Nicolet High School and at Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, D.C., she saw the importance of academics.
In her new role at Marquette, Ridgeway regularly holds afternoon tutoring sessions and also makes herself available to student athletes in the morning. She tries to give students the feeling as though somebody is there for them, like her parents were for her.
Ridgeway’s parents were both educators in the Milwaukee area. They stressed the importance of education and this prompted Ridgeway to look for academic opportunities. She received a full scholarship to Howard University for track and field and also an academic scholarship for her hard work in the classroom.
As a woman in a male-dominated field, Ridgeway has faced her share of challenges. One of her biggest challenge during her job was overcoming breast cancer last year.
“I allowed my work to be my motivation through everything that happened” Ridgeway said.
Ridgeway knows first-hand the dedication and hard work it takes to succeed as a college athlete. For that reason, she has high expectations for the students she works with on the men’s basketball team.
“My standards are different; we want every student to strive for a 3.0 or higher, but we also celebrate if you can’t,” Ridgeway said in explaining the 2.0 grade point average (GPA) standard set by the NCAA. “I would hope that one year, we would have a perfect graduation rate.”
Scott Kuykendall, Marquette’s associate athletics director, is among those in academic circles who is impressed by Ridgeway’s work.
“She’s one of the best in the business,” Kuykendall said. “We’re lucky to have her on our staff.”
Being a college athlete sparked Ridgeway’s interest in working with other student athletes. Her motto is “study smarter, not harder.” By living by this during her college years, Ridgeway became more efficient and later went back to school to pursue her masters in speech pathology. She now plans to pursue a doctorate in education.
It was in college that Ridgeway discovered her passion for working with student athletes. Ridgeway worked in the athletic department at Howard University, where she became involved in the lives of student athletes. She began working at Marquette as a learning specialist in 2003 and has remained there ever since.
“Once you find something you love, you don’t care how much time you put in or whatever it takes because you love it,” she said.
Fortunately, for Marquette’s men’s basketball players, Ridgeway is passing on the knowledge to help them win both on the basketball court and in the classroom.
Helping students pursue their dreams is how Adrienne Ridgeway describes her passion.
Ridgeway is the associate athletic director for academic services and life skills at Marquette University. Ridgeway’s academic scheduling and advisement helps students athletes really strive to be their best. Ridgeway, a 12-year employee of Marquette, previously held the position of assistant athletic director for academic services and life skills before being promoted.
While playing sports at Nicolet High School and at Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, D.C., she saw the importance of academics.
In her new role at Marquette, Ridgeway regularly holds afternoon tutoring sessions and also makes herself available to student athletes in the morning. She tries to give students the feeling as though somebody is there for them, like her parents were for her.
Ridgeway’s parents were both educators in the Milwaukee area. They stressed the importance of education and this prompted Ridgeway to look for academic opportunities. She received a full scholarship to Howard University for track and field and also an academic scholarship for her hard work in the classroom.
As a woman in a male-dominated field, Ridgeway has faced her share of challenges. One of her biggest challenge during her job was overcoming breast cancer last year.
“I allowed my work to be my motivation through everything that happened” Ridgeway said.
Ridgeway knows first-hand the dedication and hard work it takes to succeed as a college athlete. For that reason, she has high expectations for the students she works with on the men’s basketball team.
“My standards are different; we want every student to strive for a 3.0 or higher, but we also celebrate if you can’t,” Ridgeway said in explaining the 2.0 grade point average (GPA) standard set by the NCAA. “I would hope that one year, we would have a perfect graduation rate.”
Scott Kuykendall, Marquette’s associate athletics director, is among those in academic circles who is impressed by Ridgeway’s work.
“She’s one of the best in the business,” Kuykendall said. “We’re lucky to have her on our staff.”
Being a college athlete sparked Ridgeway’s interest in working with other student athletes. Her motto is “study smarter, not harder.” By living by this during her college years, Ridgeway became more efficient and later went back to school to pursue her masters in speech pathology. She now plans to pursue a doctorate in education.
It was in college that Ridgeway discovered her passion for working with student athletes. Ridgeway worked in the athletic department at Howard University, where she became involved in the lives of student athletes. She began working at Marquette as a learning specialist in 2003 and has remained there ever since.
“Once you find something you love, you don’t care how much time you put in or whatever it takes because you love it,” she said.
Fortunately, for Marquette’s men’s basketball players, Ridgeway is passing on the knowledge to help them win both on the basketball court and in the classroom.