SAAC STANDOUTS: Michael Mason, Saint Joseph's College of Maine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WINTHROP, Mass. – As we enter Thanksgiving and approach Thanksgiving break, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference has two remaining Student-Athlete Advisory Committee features, including today's Question & Answer with Saint Joseph's College of Maine senior Michael Mason, who will also get set to take over the GNAC Instagram account on Thursday, November 12.

The GNAC announced its SAAC Commissioner's Council for the 2020-21 academic year back in August, as each of the seven members were featured weekly with Wednesday Q&A Spotlights before GNAC Instagram Story Takeovers on Thursdays.

We now continue our Q&A and Instagram Takeovers with SAAC members from the GNAC's other six member institutions, with this weekly series set to run through November 18-19. For the complete weekly breakdown, please see below, and check out our Instagram Highlights for clips of past student-athlete takeovers! 

The support and formal creation of a revamped league-wide GNAC SAAC initiative came in April 2018 as a strategic recommendation from the Conference Self-Study Guide (CSSG) Committee and GNAC Presidents' Council. The SAAC Commissioner's Council will work directly with GNAC Assistant to the Commissioner Julio Barroso, with the strategic goal of emphasizing the student-athletic experience, as well as the key focus of student-athlete mental health in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

GNAC SAAC FEATURES
AUG. 26 | Anna Maria: Daniele Iaboni (Whitby, Ontario), men's soccer sophomore
SEPT. 2 | Dean: Zoe Coleman (Warwick, R.I.), field hockey/softball sophomore
SEPT. 9 | Emmanuel: Morgan Mercier (Lincolnville, Maine), men's soccer/men's lacrosse senior
SEPT. 16 | Johnson & Wales (RI): Andre Cotton-Samuel (Long Island, N.Y.), men's basketball sophomore
SEPT. 23 | Lasell: Alex Lorenzo (Pawtucket, R.I.), women's soccer sophomore
SEPT. 30 | Regis: Santiago Pedraza Novak (Bogota, Colombia), men's soccer sophomore
OCT. 7 | Saint Joseph (CT): Aminah Tsonga (Plainville, Conn.), women's volleyball senior
OCT. 14 | Albertus Magnus: Jessica Coughlin (Durham, Conn.), women's tennis senior
OCT. 21 | Colby-Sawyer: Dottie Lanctot (Sandown, N.H.), field hockey senior
OCT. 28 | Norwich: Isabella Leister (Hartland, Vt.), women's soccer senior
NOV. 4 | Rivier: Dax Billingsley (Lynn, Mass.), baseball junior
NOV. 11 | Saint Joseph's of Maine: Michael Mason (East Brodgewater, Mass.), cross country/track & field senior
NOV. 18 | Simmons: Abby Anderson (South Yarmouth, Mass.), field hockey senior

Michael Mason Q&A

Year: Senior

Hometown: East Bridgewater, Mass.

Position: Middle Distance and XC

Major: Health Studies (Minor in Coaching)

Why did you choose Saint Joe's of Maine?: The small community feel of the campus and the winning culture of the athletics program

High School: East Bridgewater HS

Top HS athletic memory: The football team winning the State Championship at Gillette Stadium my senior year

Favorite Quarantine Activities: Learning to fish and hiking 

Favorite Athletes: Patrice Bergeron and Derek Jeter

Favorite Movies: The Other Guys and The Dark Knight

Favorite Music Artists: Kid LAROI, Dababy, iann dior

Favorite Foods: enchiladas and fried pickles

Career Aspirations: Athletic Director at the collegiate level

Personal: My brother Nick plays soccer for Colby-Sawyer

What do you hope to gain from the GNAC SAAC to bring back to your campus?: I want to learn what other schools do among there SAAC programs and bring them back to SJC and implement them into our campus culture!

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –