WALTHAM, Mass. -- Former Bentley University football center Jared Kawadler (Sharon/Xaverian Bros. HS), a May graduate, was recently named the recipient of the 2011 Edward J. Powers Scholar Athlete Award.

Each year, Bentley honors the premier scholar-athlete in the senior class with the prestigious Powers Award, named in honor of the late President of the old Boston Garden, an alumnus and trustee of Bentley.  When the award was created back in the sixties, a student-athlete such as this year's recipient is likely what they had in mind.

"Look up Student-Athlete in the dictionary and you will find Jared's picture," said his coach, Thom Boerman. "He epitomizes what every coach wants his players to be, which is to do the very best they can on the field, in the classroom and in life.  He led by example and I think that by being awarded the Powers Award, all that effort on and off the field is recognized.  I expect him to go far after he graduates."

Kawadler, a three-year starter in the middle of the Falcons' offensive line who earned second-team All-Northeast-10 honors last fall as a senior, received a number of awards for his achievements, including the Powers Award. He was a repeat selection for the Northeast-10 Sport Excellence award for football, as the conference's premier student-athlete in the sport, and was selected as a first-team ESPN Academic All-America.

Kawadler, an economics-finance major, amassed a sparkling 3.87 grade point average and earned President's List accolades seven times in eight semesters.