ST. LOUIS – Senior Jake Gillum was recognized in this week's Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Spotlight for his efforts both in the classroom and his sports.
Gillum, who is majoring in Exercise Science and minoring in Spanish at Illinois State, has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his first three years of college, while excelling in cross country and track & field and being an active member of the Bloomington-Normal community.
A native of Metamora, Illinois, Gillum volunteers through Oakdale Elementary School's Mentorship Program and Pen Pal Program. As a member of the Mentorship Program, Gillum monitors lunch/recess, engages students in physical activity and oversees a classroom by supervising activities, tutoring and reading to the class. The Pen Pal Program allows Gillum to continue to engage with the Oakdale students throughout the entire year.
Gillum was one of 14 Illinois State students to be named a 2020-21 Robert G. Bone Scholar earlier this year, which is the highest university-wide honor to be given to undergraduate students at ISU. He has also been a member of the ISU Dean's List, the AFNI Honor Roll and the MVC Honor Roll every semester and was named a Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award recipient by the Valley earlier this year.
As a junior on the cross country team during the 2019 season, Gillum competed at all six meets for the Redbird men, including the MVC Cross Country Championships and the NCAA Midwest Regional. Out of the six meets, he finished in the top-35 four times with his best performances coming in the 6K at the Hawkeye Invitational (15th/18:46.1) and the 8K (23rd/25:31.6) at the Illinois State Invite.
During the 2020 indoor campaign, Gillum earned All-Valley honors by helping the Redbirds to a second-place finish in the distance medley relay and scored points for ISU, finishing sixth in the mile.
Due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 outdoor season was canceled and the 2020 cross country season has been postponed.
For all the latest news on Redbird track & field and cross country, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker
Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
