EOU softball pitcher embraces opportunities provided at EOU

Published: Sept. 30, 2003

by C.J. Gish
Media and publication writer
University Advancement
541-962-3585 / fax 541-962-3680

Thomas was the Mountaineers' top pitcher last season with a 13-9 record and a 2.06 ERA. She was named the 2003 Cascade Collegiate Conference Scholar/Athlete of the Year.

La Grande, Oregon - While participating in athletics and being a full-time student can be a daunting task, Jayne-Leigh Thomas has never shied away from stepping up to the plate and taking on new challenges.

The Eastern Oregon University softball pitcher heads into her senior year with a list of accomplishments that easily fills up a sheet of paper. She is a member of the Honors Program involved with the Eastern Ambassadors, has been named to the Dean's List all nine terms she's attended EOU, tutors Spanish and geology, and volunteers at numerous events.

"It's overwhelming, but it has enriched my life, broadened my horizons and I've met so many new people," said Thomas. "I've had people approach me and say I need to cut back in this area or that, but I can't. Sometimes I don't know when I'm going to sleep, but that's OK. I've been extremely involved in activities my entire life."

Thomas remembers keeping busy when she was in elementary school. "When I was little, I was running from sports practice to an art class to finishing the night with a theatre class. My parents always kept me involved."

So being on the go feels normal for the 21-year-old from Selah, Wash., who will be completing a double major in anthropology and liberal studies in June.

On Saturday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m. prior to the Mountaineer football game at Community Stadium, Thomas will receive her latest honor when she is awarded the 2003 Cascade Collegiate Conference Scholar Athlete Award. The award stems from Thomas' outstanding academic and athletic performance this past year.

"Jayne-Leigh will be able to accomplish whatever she wants because of her drive, intelligence and heart," said Rob Cashell, EOU director of athletics. "She has left an indelible mark on EOU athletics."

Softball has been a big part of Thomas' life at EOU. The Mountaineer pitcher has tallied a 25-20 record with a 3.06 earned run average. She has 105 strikeouts in 290.1 innings pitched. Last season, Thomas led the Mountaineers with a 13-9 record and her 2.06 ERA was the third best in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. She was named an NAIA Academic All-American and was selected EOU's 2003 Female Ragsdale Scholar/Athlete of the Year.

"Jayne-Leigh is an excellent role model for underclassmen," said Mountaineer softball coach Anji Weissenfluh. "She has proven that it is possible to be a successful student and athlete. She sets high goals for herself and will never quit until those goals are met or exceeded. She has found a way to balance the numerous activities she takes part in and does so with amazing poise. We are looking forward to having her have a great senior year on and off the field."

Thomas wears an EOU Ambassador's shirt -- one of the many extracurricular activities she is involved in.

One of Thomas' most memorable moments at EOU came from her freshman year when the Mountaineers made their annual trek to the Sun West Softball Tournament in Southern California. During some down time, the team went to the Price is Right game show. Host Bob Barker asked Thomas to "Come on down," and Thomas advanced through the contestants and went on to win the Showcase Showdown at the end of the show. The prizes included a $20,000 party boat, a five-foot tall gumball machine, an indoor fitness center, and $800 in camping gear.

"It was fantastic," said Thomas. "I sold the boat, but still have everything else. The gumball machine is in my room. It's hard to pick one (memorable) moment at EOU. I've been involved in so much and everything is so special in its own way."

Some of the areas she has been active in outside of softball are the Geology Club, the Safety Kids Fair, the Spanish Honors Society, the 2001 Park Restoration Project, volunteering at Wildflower Lodge, volunteering at the Humane Society and spending time with an elderly La Grande woman a couple of nights each week whom she met last year. It leaves little time for personal interests, but that doesn't bother Thomas.

"During the school year I have no time for hobbies. I love playing the piano, singing, reading and horseback riding," she said. "What free time I have goes toward community service. When I was in high school something I never got into was community service. People had a negative attitude toward it, but I've found that it is very rewarding."

This past summer, Thomas' slate was loaded with new experiences. She was a volunteer coach for Selah Middle School's fastpitch softball team and was involved with the Pegasus Project, a center for disabled children who use horses for therapy. She also found time for a three-week internship in Bolivia.

"I started looking in January for internships available with the opportunity to speak Spanish and tie it in with anthropology or geology," said Thomas. "The opportunity for the Bolivia trip came up and I was one of four girls chosen to go. I worked in forestry developing anthropology and gender studies plans."

Thomas, talking on a public phone in Bolivia, spent three weeks in the South American country serving in a forestry internship..

It marked the first time Thomas had been that far away from home. She has been to Canada and Mexico.

"The culture was overwhelming," she said. "Just being in a foreign country makes you step back and take a look at your life. Seeing poverty puts things into perspective and you focus on what is important in your life. I went on a six-day jungle tour of the Amazon and saw a lot of the countryside."

With the end of her four-year stay at EOU in sight, Thomas has started working on a Rhodes Scholarship application for a two-year study at Oxford University in Britain.

"The scholarship is extremely competitive. I plan on going to graduate school in an archeology program and possibly entwining it with my Spanish background," she said. I'm not sure beyond that. I'd like to do some research in archeology and anthropology along the lines of paleontology. I'd love to do archeology work in Latin America. Other than that, I'll leave things open and see what opportunities come up."

Honors Program advisor Elizabeth Boretz has been impressed with Thomas and sees bright things ahead for the anthropology major.

"She embodies all of the ideals that we would like to see in every EOU student," said Boretz. "She is open to new ideas on the intellectual level, she values her role as a community citizen on and off campus, she understands the vastness of the world and the importance of lifelong learning through travel and academic pursuits."

With her list of accomplishments and strong academic background, Boretz said Thomas should have no trouble receiving a full-tuition and living stipend in the graduate school of her choice. The classroom is where Boretz feels Thomas will eventually return to once her schooling is finished. "She said that she would like to be a college professor, and I suspect she will be a well-respected teacher-scholar not too long from now."

But the journey from eastern Oregon will not be easy for Thomas.

"It will be really hard to leave EOU. This is like my home," said Thomas. "Having the opportunity to go to a small school to focus on athletics and academics has helped me achieve my goals. I know there wouldn't have been the same opportunities at a larger school. A lot of times students involved in athletics have to push academics aside, but you can balance it out at a smaller school like EOU.

"The main reason I came to EOU was to play softball. Other than the softball program, I hadn't even heard of EOU," she said. "My main focuses were getting and education and playing softball. God placed everything in front of me and it's been amazing. I've had a lot of opportunities made available and I've seized those opportunities."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Information

University Advancement Eastern Oregon University One University Boulevard La Grande, OR 97850 phone 541.962.3740 fax 541.962.3680 email University Advancement