Natalie Depasquale wasn’t able to show her stuff on the softball diamond for SBCC this spring as the community college made the decision to opt out of playing sports this school year out of health concerns for its student athletes and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While she was bummed not being able to play the sport she loves, Depasquale shined in her courses online.
The freshman from San Ramon has pulled an impressive 3.97 grade-point average, the highest on the team. She’s earned straight A’s in her two years at SBCC and has been named to the President’s Honor Roll all four semesters. Her class load has included anatomy, physiology, political science, statistics, organic chemistry, calculus and microbiology.
The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table is honoring Depasquale as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year for SBCC. She was recognized by award sponsor Marc Gamberdella in a virtual ceremony. Also participating was softball coach Jasmyne Perry.
In her two years of attending SBCC, Depasquale has taken full advantage of what the college has to offer students.
“I never taken so many amazing classes in my life,” she said. “All my professors has made my experience worth it, even on the most trying days, especially online.
“I do miss the beauty of the campus and, hopefully, we’ll be back there soon. I would love to meet with my amazing professors once again.”
On the softball field, Depasquale is the fastest player on the team.
“She probably would have been our leadoff batter. She is ridiculously fast,” said Perry. “Natalie is one of those special athletes. She is one of those that people are drawn to. They want to do what Natalie is doing, and they know what she is doing is amazing. She has a heart of gold.”
Time management has been key in Depasquale’s life in Santa Barbara.
In addition to keeping an ‘A’ average, she has a full-time job, volunteers as a math tutor, worked on a local political campaign and put in the work for softball.
“Man, Natalie, I’m impressed,” said Perry.
SBART Scholar Athlete of the Year: Natalie Depasquale from Dream Cast Media Group on Vimeo.
The daughter of John and Heather Depasquale hopes to continue playing college softball at a Division 1 program. her academic goal is to get into the nursing programs at either UCLA or New York University.
“It has always been a dream of mine to get accepted into one of these schools and, if I also got into their nursing programs, it would exceed my wildest imagination,” she said. “I hope to become a pediatric oncology nurse, where I can constantly surround myself with children and help them in whatever way possible.”
Depasquale thanked SBCC Director of Athletics Rocco Constantino, the athletic department and the softball team for making her feel so welcomed.
She also recognized the academics staff.
“I wanted to give a huge shout out to the amazing academics staff at SBCC. The amount of resources offered to us is something I’ve never seen before and it definitely makes it easier to do well and, of course, want to succeed in school,” she said.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.