An Ace on the Court and in the Classroom

Sara Ridgway will graduate Kean in May at the top of her game – in athletics and academics, and as a campus leader.

Ridgway, from Barnegat, has maintained a 3.95 G.P.A. on her way to earning her bachelor’s degree in communication, with minors in speech-language-hearing sciences and marketing. She is also a record-setting member of the Kean women’s volleyball team, and the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Tower.

If that isn’t enough to keep a college student busy, Ridgway works as a service specialist with Kean’s Center for Leadership and Service and recently started volunteering with Jumpstart, a nonprofit working in under-resourced communities to close the kindergarten readiness gap.

“I’m just one of those people who is more productive when I’m busy,” she said.

For Ridgway, packing her schedule is her way of staying focused and open to new opportunities. Her athletics, academic pursuits, work and extracurricular activities help her prepare for the future and find her passion, she said.

As an athlete, Ridgway, a 5’10” middle hitter and blocker, has received accolades at both the team and conference level, including two all-tournament teams, New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Kean Athletics Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. 

“It doesn’t seem like anything ever gives with (Ridgway),” said Don Perkins, head coach of the Kean women’s volleyball team. “She’s just great at everything.”

Ridgway said her volleyball experience has taught her about the balance of competition and teamwork.

“I love to compete, but I’ve made so many friends and learned so much about myself and other people,” she said.

Although accepted into Kean’s prestigious New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics, Ridgeway fell in love with media and film as a freshman, and switched gears to become a communication major, subsequently adding marketing as a second major.

By the spring of her junior year, something new sparked Ridgway’s imagination. Inspired by her roommate’s work with children and adults with disabilities, she began volunteering, most recently with the preschoolers enrolled in Jumpstart.

“Seeing the kids progress their skills as they get ready for kindergarten is very satisfying because you feel like you’re making a difference,” she said.

The experience prompted another shift. Ridgeway downgraded her marketing major to a minor, added a minor in Kean’s speech-language-hearing sciences program, and will pursue admission to a graduate program this fall.

Navigating so many academic pivots wasn’t easy, and Ridgway said the insight and advice of countless professors and advisors was key to helping forge her path.

“There are so many resources and opportunities,” Ridgway said. “You just have to tap into them.”

Encouraging others to get involved, Ridgway credits extracurricular activities with keeping her motivated and revealing new opportunities.

“Be active in what you’re looking for,” she said. “Whatever you’re interested in, chances are Kean has it.”