HAVERFORD, Pa. – Jacob Olshansky was honored Thursday evening with the William W. Ambler Award, presented by the Haverford College department of athletics to the senior athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average.
Ambler honorees must have participated and started in at least one sport throughout their college career, and have demonstrated commitment, sportsmanship and leadership. Olshansky is a member of the Fords' cross country and track teams.
Olshansky was not sure, perhaps even skeptical, that he would attend Haverford. A visit to the College on Pinwheel Day and an inspirational conversation with track & field and cross country head coach Tom Donnelly turned the tide and made the decision easy.
Before that visit, Olshansky “wasn’t even sure that I wanted to be a collegiate athlete.” Donnelly became more than just a running coach through four years of coaching Olshansky. “(Donnelly’s) daily pre-practice talks have instilled a set of values that have made me a far better runner, and a far better student than I thought possible before starting my career here.”
Olshansky found a home academically as well. “The tight-knit, welcoming, and intellectually-intense chemistry and physics departments have done an amazing job sparking my interest in the field and have stirred my excitement about a career in science.”
Following his graduation from Haverford, Olshansky will pursue his doctorate in materials chemistry with a goal of creating alternative energy solutions.
Olshansky’s research mentor, Alex Norquist, clearly feels there will be a day when Olshanky’s research efforts are realized. “Jacob is not the kind of student who comes along every year, or five years, or even every 10 years. He is truly remarkable,” Norquist said. “The depth of his intellectual curiosity is astounding. I wish I could say that I’ve pushed Jacob in research lab, but the truth is that I try to keep out of his way.”
Norquist continually challenged Olshansky in the lab. “He has attacked the most difficult research problems that I could devise, and excelled in ways that I could never have imagined,” said Norquist. “The apparent effortlessness with which Jacob has driven his chemistry forward can hide his dedication and his intellectual engagement with his thesis work.”
In cross country and track, Olshansky has been a contributing member of each program’s rich heritage. He has been on six Centennial Conference championship teams—three indoor track, two cross country and one outdoor track—and one national championship (2010) team in cross country. His relay team raced to the indoor 4x800 title at the 2011 league championship meet and he was part of the program’s season-best time in the distance medley relay during the 2011-12 indoor season. He will close out his Haverford athletic career having been named to the Centennial’s academic honor roll each of the nine times he was eligible.
“Jacob is a great example of the type of athlete who has helped our program become successful,” states Donnelly. “Without having great high school running credentials he still worked hard enough and took himself seriously enough as an athlete that he has gone on to become an instrumental part of many conference championship teams in track and cross country.”
Joining Olshansky at Thursday's ceremony were 15 of Haverford's most distinguished senior scholar-athletes (along with their academic advisors, coaches and faculty liaisons), honored for their own accomplishments and as representatives of the many student-athletes who have excelled during their time at Haverford: Zoe Becker (women's squash), Andrew Bostick (men's fencing), Mike Bozzi (baseball), Matthew Cohen (men's cross country, track & field), Jamie Croucher (women's cross country, track & field), Will Garrett (men's tennis), Patrick Haneman (men's cross country, track & field), Kevin Hoffman (men's cross country, track & field), Nathan Karnovsky (men's tennis), Alejandro Rettig y Martinez (men's soccer), Lindsay Ryan (women's soccer), Anna Schall (women's track & field), Jake Seeley (men's soccer), Natty Sergay (men's tennis) and Alice Vienneau (women's cross country, track & field).
Ambler epitomized the scholar-athlete. He graduated from Haverford in 1949 with honors in mathematics and was a starting tackle on the last undefeated football team in 1942. Originally in the Class of 1945, Ambler left the College to perform alternative service as a conscientious objector in World War II.
After graduation, Ambler taught math at Oakwood School and was an admissions office at the University of Pennsylvania before returning to Haverford as the assistant to the admissions director in 1956. Ambler was named Associate Director of Admission in 1960, then Director in 1965. He retired in 1987, was honored by Haverford with an Honorary Degree in 1991, and died in 1995 soon after his 50th class reunion. Ambler's late wife, Barbara, and many of his former colleagues were present at previous Ambler ceremony presentations.