SAN MARCOS, Calif.  – The Cal State San Marcos Department of Athletics is pleased to announce the hiring of Lara Kehkedjian as Athletic Academic Advisor.
Kehkedjian is tasked with helping CSUSM student-athletes reach their academic potential by providing support and resources to suit the unique needs of student-athletes. She will assist with graduation plans and monitor student-athlete progress in achieving educational goals.
"Lara will be a great addition to Cougar Athletics. Lara brings with her incredible experience and knowledge when it comes to student-athlete support services," said CSUSM Director of Athletics Jennifer Milo. " Our number-one priority for CSUSM student-athletes is their academic achievement and earning their degree. Lara will be great support for our student-athletes in helping to give them direction to achieve their academic goals."
Kehkedjian has worked closely with NCAA student-athletes, most recently in the Academic Services Department at NCAA Division I's Cal State Northridge from 2003-11. Her day-to-day responsibilities included preparing NCAA academic eligibility information, monitoring student academic progress, assisting in the recruiting process for prospective student-athletes, and serving as a liaison to various campus departments and committees.
She earned a Master of Arts degree in Education from Pepperdine in 2012 after her eight years working at CSUN. Kehkedjian did her undergraduate work at CSUN and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature in 2002.
Kehkedjian will oversee a student-athlete group that showcased considerable prowess in the classroom last year. 130 of 161 eligible CSUSM student-athletes recorded grade-point averages of 3.00 or higher during the spring 2013 semester. In 2012-13, 16 student-athletes were selected as Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athletes, three earned CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District, and the women's soccer team took home its first-ever NSCAA Team Academic Award for boasting a team GPA of higher than 3.0 (3.06 cumulative).
