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www.asu.edu
February 17, 2005
Two ASU students receive national acclaim in USA Today
ASU has had more students named top U.S. undergraduates by USA Today over the past
11 years than any other public school. Only Harvard and Yale have had more. Boosting
ASU’s impressive record of accomplishment, two more ASU students have been named to USA
Today’s All-USA Academic Teams in the Feb. 17 issue of USA Today.
Scott MacIntyre, a senior in piano performance in the Herberger College of
Fine Arts, is featured in a color photo and profile story as one of the top 20
undergraduates in the United States, named to the first team. Jared Niska, who graduated
in December with a degree in bioengineering from the Ira A. Fulton School, was named to
the second team of 20 students. The USA Today award winners are chosen
annually from more than 600 top students nominated from their schools. The national
recognition is especially meaningful because a panel of judges considers not only grades,
leadership and activities, but most of all, how students extend their intellectual talents
beyond the classroom.
MacIntyre, 19, is a talented classical pianist who entered ASU at the age of
14 and made his orchestral debut the following year, performing as guest soloist with the
Phoenix Symphony. Virtually blind since birth, he will graduate in May with a 3.95
grade-point average. He navigates the campus easily with a cane and uses computer
scanners, tape recordings and magnifying glasses to study. “Scott is a
remarkable student from any vantage point,” says ASU Music Professor Walter Cosand.
“He is very young to be so accomplished, versatile, flexible and poised.”
He has performed in hundreds of charity concerts all over North America, appearing for the
Braille Institute, Ronald McDonald Charities, the Mayo Clinic and the Canadian National
Institute for the Blind. MacIntyre gives motivational speeches, has been a YMCA student
senator, teaches swing and ballroom dancing and skis with a sighted guide. He won a
Marshall Scholarship this year and will do graduate work at Cambridge University and the
Royal College of Music.
First-team winners receive a $2,500 award and are featured in a four-color
section of USA Today. By Sarah Auffret. with
Marketing & Strategic Communications, can be reached at (480) 965-6991 or
(sauffret@asu.edu).
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