THREE STUDENTS REPRESENT ODU IN USA TODAY ACADEMIC COMPETITION

Linda K. Wolfe of Camp Verde, Ariz., a senior interdisciplinary studies major; Justin Crocker of Yorktown, a junior biology major; and Katrina R. Blandford of Chesapeake, a senior nursing major, have been selected to represent Old Dominion University in USA Today's 2002-03 All-USA College Academic Team competition. Winners will be announced in the newspaper in February.

USA Today honors outstanding students annually with its All-USA College Academic Team. The 10 students selected to the All-USA First Team will be pictured in the newspaper and receive a $2,500 cash award. Forty runners-up will be named to the Second and Third Teams and will receive certificates of achievement and have their names in the newspaper.

Wolfe, the daughter of Ron and Nadean Ross, is an Old Dominion student taking classes at Yavapai College via its TELETECHNET distance learning network. She hopes to find a job in the public service or community development professions after graduation this year and has a 3.95 GPA. She is a founding member of Hispanic Outreach, a service organization in the diverse community in Yavapai County, and has served as a mentor for student support services at the college.

Wolfe's research on Navajo culture and Latino workforce development has been adopted by college officials as the basis for developing policies and programs to serve the needs of those communities.

Crocker, the son of Dennis and Teresa Crocker, hopes to pursue a career as a physician and has a 3.8 GPA. He spent his last five summers with the Appalachia Service Project through St. Luke's Methodist Church in his hometown, most recently as the leader of a group repairing homes in the region's poorest towns.

Crocker's research dealt with factors affecting the Appalachian counties of Russell and Dickenson, where the ASP worked in 2001 and 2002, including the history of the areas' poverty and the hardships they face.

Blandford, studying to become a nurse practitioner, has a 3.88 GPA and is the spouse of Christopher Blandford. She has donated more than 600 hours of her time since 2000 to the Blue Horse Mukwa Equine Retirement and Rescue Center, a sanctuary for abused and neglected horses.

Both Kristine Gonzalez, a 1999 Old Dominion graduate from Suffolk, and Rosemarie Liu, a 2002 graduate from Burke, Va., have been named to the competition's third team in the last three years.