Aaliyah Barnes Named Recipient of Miechelle Willis Academic Achievement Award
2/7/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Feb. 7, 2017
Columbus, Ohio – Aaliyah Barnes was named the recipient of the inaugural Miechelle Willis Academic Achievement Award last Wednesday.
“I was obviously really happy when I heard I was going to be receiving the award,” Barnes said. “When I was in the process of applying to school here, I didn’t even know if I was going to get in, so once I arrived here, I knew I had to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.”
Barnes, the top sprinter for the women’s track and field team, is scheduled to graduate in May with a degree in criminology and criminal justice.
“Once I got to campus, I got a little taste of academic success after my first semester and I actually enjoyed it,” Barnes mentioned. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work in the classroom in my time here, so receiving this award is kind of proof of that.”
The award was named after Ohio State Deputy Director of Athletics, Miechelle Willis, who has served at Ohio State for more than 20 years. The naming of the award was due to Willis’ dedication to the students who have constantly strived to improve their academics for the past 22 years; it was a way to honor her commitment into perpetuity.
“I’m excited to see Aaliyah receive the inaugural Miechelle Willis Academic Achievement Award for two reasons,” Ohio State director of track & field and cross country, Karen Dennis, said. “First, Miechelle is my hero and I’m glad to see this award in her honor. Secondly, Aaliyah has worked extremely hard to overcome many family and personal challenges throughout college.”
Willis is currently the special assistant to the athletic director, and during her time in Columbus she has served numerous roles with the department, including executive associate athletics director and senior women’s administrator and has overseen various championship-winning sports during her tenure.
“Aaliyah has maintained a razor sharp focus on the end game; her team’s success and graduation,” Dennis noted. “Ohio State has allowed Aaliyah to transform her life and ultimately the lives of many others she will encounter.”
On the track, Barnes is a three-time All-American, two-time Big Ten champion and she received the 2014 Big Ten Sportsmanship award. She holds the school record in the indoor 200m dash with a readout of 22.37 and she helped set the outdoor 4x400m relay (3:28.37) and sprint medley relay (3:47.87) school records. Barnes has won 29 races during her career.
