Kambourelis Selected To William Aiken Junior Fellows Society
10/11/2010 6:18:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Kambourelis, a 5-foot-5 freshman right-hander from Melbourne, Fla. (near Orlando), went through an extensive, two-day interview process back in February, while a senior at West Shore Jr./Sr. High School. The selection process is intensely competitive and only about 15 new CofC students are admitted each school year. The Honors College identifies high school seniors as potential William Aiken Junior Fellows based on their application and these students typically have SAT scores of 1400 or better and are in the top 4 percent of their classes.
"Kelly is a gifted writer, who scored a perfect score on a section of the SAT, and is equally a great recruit for the College of Charleston as a student and tennis player," said College of Charleston Director of Tennis and Head Women's Tennis Coach Angelo Anastopoulo. "She continues to work very diligently in the classroom and court. Her hard work resulted in winning her flight championship at the CofC Invitational this fall."
Kambourelis is one of two student-athletes on the women's tennis team to be admitted as a member of the society along with teammate Caroline Newman, a junior from Greensboro, N.C., who boasts a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in psychology.
The William Aiken Fellows Society is a group of highly capable students who have the potential for success in the pursuit of national and international opportunities reserved for top scholars. Throughout their college careers, William Aiken Fellows participate in numerous programs designed to create leadership opportunities, enrich their academic experience and prepare them for graduate work and beyond.
Students who receive this impressive designation participate in monthly conversations with scholars, professional skill-building workshops and individual mentoring sessions focused on the development of the personal essay, interviewing skills and academic goal setting. Scholars also attend an annual reception with College officials and are invited to a number of special lectures and seminars.
Kambourelis chose CofC over Ivy League schools such as Brown and Dartmouth as well as Furman, Richmond and Missouri. She is looking to possibly double major in communication and psychology.
"I fell in love with Charleston for many different reasons," she said. "I love living in the city and I love my teammates and coaches. The Honors College also provides a lot of academic opportunities for members to excel and everyone is so friendly here at CofC."
On the tennis court, Kambourelis grew up playing on the USTA junior circuit including the hard court and clay court nationals. In her Cougar debut last month, she won the B1 singles flight at the Eighth Annual CofC Invitational held at Patriots Point.
"Fall tournament play and practices have been going well," said Kambourelis, who is a righty with two backhands, but says she is more of a ground strokes player. "I don't have any complaints so far. I hope I can contribute to the team's goal of winning another SoCon Championship by playing in the singles and doubles lineup. I'm definitely excited for the spring season."
Players Mentioned
