June 14, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Two UCF football student-athletes have recently been recognized for their work in the classroom. Junior safety Sha'reff Rashad (Jacksonville, Fla./Episcopal) was named to the 2007 Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholars First Team by Diverse magazine and former player Dan Veenstra (Largo, Fla./Largo) has been awarded with a Conference USA Postgraduate Scholarship.
Rashad was one of 15 football players nationwide selected to the first team. In April, Rashad was honored as one of three UCF Scholar-Athletes of the Year. The criminal justice major earned a spot on the C-USA All-Academic Team following the 2006 season. He finished the year with a team-high four interceptions.
In order to qualify for the Diverse Sports Scholars Team, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2 and be active on their college campus or in the community. Diverse focuses on higher education issues for minorities.
An offensive lineman, Veenstra concluded his collegiate career this past season. A four-year letterwinner for the Knights, he was one of 12 recipients of the league's postgraduate scholarship. The conference annually presents the $4,000 postgraduate scholarship awards to graduates as selected by the league's faculty athletics representatives and approved by the board of directors.
Veenstra earned his undergraduate degree in business management and has already completed one semester in the UCF MBA program. He made a pair of starts as a senior last year for the Knights. In 2006, he was recognized as one of the UCF Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
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