Graduate student Jarad Beckman (pictured back left) is one of 334 bowlers in the U.S. that are on the 2006-2007 National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association (NCBCA) Collegiate All-American Team. Jarad is also an NCBCA Academic All-American—a United States Bowling Congress collegiate athlete who has a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 based on a 4.0 scale. To quote Jarad, “it was quite an honor to learn that I was one of only a select group of bowlers across the U.S. to receive this Collegiate All-American Recognition for performance both in the classroom and on the lanes! As an undergraduate at UCSB, I had the opportunity to bowl for one year on the team, so when I returned to complete a PhD in UCSB’s Geography Department, I was quite anxious to rejoin the bowling team, which had grown tremendously during my two years away. As one of very few graduate bowlers at the collegiate level in the USBC, balancing my time between bowling and graduate studies has been very challenging, including many late nights in the office working and using lunch breaks for bowling practice. With two years of eligibility left (following the 2006-2007 season, which just ended in February), I look forward to continuing my representation of the UCSB bowling team and the Geography Department.”
Jarad joined us this past fall after finishing his MA at USC, and his doctoral research focuses on how cultural preferences and location (e.g., immigrant enclaves) play into travel behavior. Speaking of playing, we’re glad to have him on our team!
