Jan. 7, 2013

TUCSON - University of Arizona junior Megan Meyer, a member of the women's cross country and track and field teams, and senior John Bonano, the Wildcats' recently graduated placekicker, earned 2013 Pillars of Excellence Awards, sponsored by the UA Bookstore, it was announced in conjunction with graduation ceremonies in December. Meyer and Bonano will be recognized at a ceremony in February.

The Honors College sought out nominations of Honors students, particularly juniors and seniors, who won national and international honors, excelled in the arts and creativity, became leaders in community service, successfully combined athletic and intellectual endeavors or made significant contributions to research and scholarly activity.

With a 3.88 GPA as a nutritional sciences major, Meyer is a three-year participant with ICA's Peer Athletic Leaders (PAL) program, serving as a mentor to freshmen and teammates who may be struggling. She is also a member of ICA's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), serving as her teams' representative and meeting monthly with the Arizona Athletic Directors. This fall she represented the athletics department at the Pac-12 Leadership Conference and recently was honored as the one athlete chosen from her team to be on the ICA "We Are Always in Uniform" poster - representing character, leadership, good decision making and responsible choices. She has also been a Step UP! Ambassador, representing the student-athlete population in this ground-breaking bystander intervention program.

A physiology major with a 3.927 GPA, Bonano attended Arizona on an honors academic scholarship. He is currently applying to medical school and undergoing the interview process. He is the 2012 Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year, a 2011 and 2012 Pac-12 All-Academic honoree and a 2012 CoSIDA Academic All-District award winner. A team leader in community service, he logs hours with regular visits to the Diamond Children's Center and, most recently, visited with children at the New Mexico Children's Hospital in Albuquerque while the team was there for the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.