April 16, 2008

Former UTEP women's basketball player Jonna Launiainen has been named a Top-10 senior at UTEP, the highest honor a student can be recognized with at the institution. She will be presented the award at the SGA banquet on Friday evening.

The Top Ten Seniors Awards are presented annually by the UTEP Alumni Association to UTEP's most promising future alumni. Graduating or recently graduated seniors are evaluated on a combination of academic achievement, involvement, leadership and service both in the community and on campus, and on the impression they have made on others during their time at UTEP. This award reflects the true spirit of what it means to be both an outstanding student and a proud Miner.

Launiainen certainly exemplifies those qualities, as she maintained a 4.0 cumulative grade point average while earning a dual bachelor's and master's accounting degree in five years. Making the native of Finland's academic achievements even more impressive is the fact that was successfully balancing time between basketball and the classroom.

"Jonna's credentials speak for volumes about her commitment and drive," UTEP Senior Associate Athletics Director and SWA Lisa Campos said. "It is evident she is a well-rounded, committed individual with a lot of character. She is most deserving of being one of UTEP's Top Ten Seniors.

Launiainen appeared in 97 games, including 34 starts, and she drained plenty of shots in her career. She was particularly impressive from three-point land, knocking down 75 triples to rank seventh all time in the 35-year history of the program.

She racked up a plethora of awards for her efforts in the classroom, garnering four straight academic all conference. In addition, she picked up a pair of Conference USA Academic Medals. She was named to the Downtown Lions Club as well as having the John Phalen Endowed Athletic Scholarship.

Launiainen has been highly involved in campus and community service projects. Included among her activities has been serving as a leader for the Student-Athlete-Advisory Committee (SAAC), volunteering her time on student-athlete day and assisting with the Hurricane Katrina relief drive.