Texas Southern's Softball Student-Athletes Are Valedictorian and Salutatorian
HOUSTON - It's been a great two years for the Texas Southern athletic department. Two graduating softball program student-athletes, Jazmine Gendorf and Catherine Hernandez, were featured on Fox 26's "Making the Grade" segment with host Nate Griffin at H&PE Arena. During the Fall 2023 semester, Hernandez was named Valedictorian, while Gendorf earned Salutatorian honors for the Summer of 2023. Both individuals will be recognized and celebrated during the Winter Commencement Ceremony at Texas Southern University in December 2023.
FROM TEXAS SOUTHERN
For the Fall 2023 semester, softball's Catherine Hernandez was named the TSU Baccalaureate Degree Class Valedictorian, while teammate Jazmine Gendorf earned Salutatorian honors based on her work up to the Summer of 2023.
Hernandez is a native of Port Lavaca, Texas, and will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Health. She holds a 3.89 GPA and has been with the softball program as a pitcher since 2021 and a SWAC Commissioner Honor Roll honoree.
After finishing, Gendorf hails from Waco, Texas, and will earn a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a GPA of 3.61. She was a four-year letterwinner as a pitcher and has been with the program since 2020. Gendorf is a two-time All-SWAC honoree on the mound, was named the 2023 SWAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, and earned a spot on the SWAC Commissioner's Honor Roll.
This makes the second consecutive graduation ceremony that TSU student-athletes will be honored in both roles as Nora Rodriguez and Devansh Chadha were named the Spring 2023 Baccalaureate Degree Class Valedictorian and Salutatorian. In addition, this also marks the fifth time in six years that a student-athlete or member of the TSU Ocean of Soul Marching Band has captured those honors as former TSU Ocean of Soul band member Jennifer Guzman was the Fall 2022 Valedictorian while men's basketball former student-athlete Divonte Lumpkin and former women's basketball student-athlete Camille Mills earned Salutatorian honors in 2019 and 2017, respectively.
TSU Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics, Dr. Kevin Granger, is ecstatic about making academic history again.
"Words can't express how elated I am about Catherine and Jazmine's success in the classroom as student-athletes," said Dr. Granger. "Both student-athletes have dedicated long hours on and off the diamond and have continued the tradition of academic excellence set before them in the department. I also have to thank the Texas Southern faculty and our Athletics Academic Enhancement staff for their tireless work throughout both Catherine and Jazmine's careers, along with head softball coach Raven Rodriguez for creating an environment that has produced three consecutive student-athletes with the highest academic achievements of their respective classes."
Both student-athletes are scheduled to graduate on Saturday, Dec. 16, inside the H&PE Arena on the TSU campus.
