AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University athletic department is pleased to announce its 2024 recipient of the John Paul II Distinguished Alumni Award. The award recognizes one AMU athletic alum per year who has achieved notable distinction off the field of competition following graduation. This year, the department will recognize Dr. Julia Sadusky as the award recipient.

For nominees to be considered for the John Paul II Distinguished Alumni Award, they must have played a varsity sport and earned a degree from the university.

"It is so inspiring and consoling to see the impact that our alumni are having on the Church and society," University Provost Dr. Roger Nutt stated. "Dr. Sadusky has gone from being a leader on our campus to being a leader in the ever-increasingly important field of mental health. She is an inspiration to all of us—especially those who taught her—and to our students. She is a living testimony of the fruit that can be borne throughout one's life by fully committing to the challenging opportunity of being a student athlete at AMU."

At Ave Maria, Sadusky played three seasons with the tennis program. She was twice named Academic All-Sun Conference, and she earned NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athlete recognition in those same two seasons. She founded the Athletic Ministry Program during her time at the University, and she graduated with a degree in psychology with a minor in theology.

Since leaving Ave Maria, Dr. Sadusky has become an expert in the intersection of sexuality, gender, and theology. Other areas of focus include work with those experiencing complex trauma and eating disorders. She earned her doctorate degree at Regent University in Virginia, and is now an author, speaker, and licensed psychologist. She has authored two books on the topic of talking with adolescents about sex from a Catholic perspective, and she was a co-author on three more books in the areas of gender and faith. 

The Award will be given in conjunction with the University's Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony in November. The ceremony is scheduled for Friday, November 1, on the Ave Maria campus. Ticket information for the 2024 ceremony is available HERE.