NCAA helps WSSU athletes get their degrees

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Danisha Wiggins, a former track and cross country athlete at Winston-Salem State, said that without a financial grant from the NCAA to help her finish her degree requirements it’s doubtful she would still be in school.

But for Wiggins and Michael Douglas, a former football player for the Rams, the NCAA is helping both pay for their final few classes, allowing them to get their college degrees. It might not be a lot of money considering the billion-dollar business that is the NCAA, but to Wiggins, it means a lot.

“My mom doesn’t have a high-paying job so when I graduated Parkland it was all on me,” said Wiggins, 23, who hopes to be a kindergarten teacher. “So this is just a blessing because without the NCAA’s help I would have had to take out a bunch of loans. It would have been a lot tougher.”

Wiggins, who works a 40-hour job at A Child’s World Learning Center in downtown Winston-Salem, has a 3.8 GPA and is two classes and a teaching internship away from graduation. Her eligibility ended this spring after four outstanding seasons on the track team where she helped the Rams to two CIAA indoor championships.

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