Holzapfel honored as ‘Student of the Block’ for Block Three
Simon Holzapfel, a senior majoring in sport management and exercise physiology, has been named “Student of the Block” for Block Three of the 2010-11 academic year.
The Student of the Block Award is presented each block by the Office of Student Affairs to recognize students for academic achievement, leadership on campus and contributions to the college community.
Hailing from Nuremberg, Germany, Holzapfel has been motivated to be involved and engaged as a Tusculum College student, giving his best to the student body through his involvement in the Student Government Association, President’s Society, Peer Tutor, Resident Assistant (currently a member of the senior leadership team), as founder of the Track and Field Club, Pioneer Green Team, Alpha Chi Honor Society and as the vice president of the Pioneer Student-Athlete Advisory Council.
He has also participated in various community-oriented service programs such as annual campus clean-ups, set building for the Theatre-at-Tusculum program, raising funds for the Pioneer Club, cleaning the Harmony Cemetery, volunteering at the Greene County Field Day and assisting in administering fitness tests for students at Chuckey-Doak Middle School.
Holzapfel was drawn to Tusculum because of the majors offered in the Physical Education Department. ”I wanted to study exercise science as I am interested in the physiological factors that determine the level of performance and fitness of the human body.” he said. “I thought sport science was the same thing as exercise science but it incorporated more administrative management of sports and legal coursework, which I enjoy.”
Boasting a 4.0 G.P.A. throughout his career, Holzapfel’s many academic
accolades include President’s List, Charles Oliver Gray List, Dean’s List, Duffield Award (awarded to the upperclassmen student- athlete with the highest grade point average), Freshman Student Athlete Award and the Alpha Academic Excellence Award. He was recently was honored with the James E. Ward Outstanding Major award from TAHPERD (Tennessee Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance), the first Tusculum student to receive the statewide award.
Taking his role as a student-athlete very seriously, he has excelled as a cross country team member and academically in the classroom. As a result of his self- discipline and hard work, Holzapfel is a two-time South Atlantic Conference Championship race winner (2009, 2010), the 2010 South Atlantic Conference Cross Country Scholar Athlete of the Year, SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, and two-time Academic All American (2009, 2010). He also holds the records for the top 11 8,000-meter running times in school history and 14 of the best 20 in school history. He holds 16 career individual titles and a two time SAC Runner of the Year recipient (2009, 2010).
Holzapfel notes that many faculty and staff members have been influential and instrumental in his success at Tusculum.
Among his many memories of his time at the college are the cross country trips on vans to various meets, attending women’s volleyball and basketball games, and all of the good times with friends. “I am proud to have many amazing friends and that I have been able to keep more than a handful of them over so many years,” he said. “My mom always told me that if you have one true friend in life, you are rich. Friends are those people that you do not have to be ashamed of to ask for a favor… they will be there for you when nobody else will, like my friends have proven.”
Holzapfel looks toward his journey after college which is to pursue masters and doctoral degrees in exercise physiology. “My career goals include the conduction of research in the area of exercise physiology in order to contribute valuable findings for the advancement of the field,” he said. “It is my desire to become a research and/or teaching faculty member for exercise physiology.”
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