Education undergraduates named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars, Academic All-Big Ten honorees
A number of College of Education undergraduates were among the Boilermaker student-athletes named for their excellence in the classroom as Big Ten Distinguished Scholars and/or Academic All-Big Ten honorees for the spring 2023 sports season.
Three-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Kat Mueller from women’s swimming & diving has maintained perfect cumulative 4.0 GPAs during her undergraduate course work at Purdue. She’s set to complete her student teaching in the fall and graduate in December.
![](https://education.purdue.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/KatMueller.jpg)
Big Ten Distinguished Scholars (3.7+ GPA for 2022-23)
WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING
• Kat Mueller – Social Studies Education (2021, 2022); Cumulative 4.0 entering Student Teaching
WRESTLING
• Thomas Penola – English Education (2022)
Academic All-Big Ten (3.0+ Cumulative GPA)
SOFTBALL
• Hailey Hayes – Elementary Education
• Tyrina Jones – Education
TRACK & FIELD
• Nathan Walker – Mathematics Education
• Kerris Roberts – Mathematics Education (2021, 2022)
![](https://education.purdue.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ThomasPenola.jpg)
![](https://education.purdue.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/HaileyHayes-edited.jpg)
![](https://education.purdue.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/TyrinaJones_PU-1024x575.jpg)
![](https://education.purdue.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/NathanWalker.jpg)
![](https://education.purdue.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/KerrisRoberts.jpg)
Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten, student-athletes must be enrolled full-time at their university for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher, and Big Ten Distinguished Scholars must earn a 3.7+ GPA during the 2022-23 school year.
Congratulations, #BoilermakerEducators!