Baldwin Wallace’s Jackie Kasai Named Printing Concepts Scholar-Athlete of the Month for May
By: Baldwin Wallace Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant Hailey Owens ‘21
A creative person, especially in the arts, has an ability to create and develop unique concepts. For Baldwin Wallace University senior Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference softball player and digital media & design major: graphic design, Jackie Kasai balances her responsibilities as a student-athlete while also exceling in the classroom, on the field, within her computer and behind the camera.
On the field, Kasai has been through a lot of adversity. As a freshman at BW in 2020, she appeared and started in all eight games before Covid-19 cancelled her first year of softball. Kasai did not let the disappointing end to her first season affect her sophomore campaign. She recorded career-highs in hits (26), runs scored (26), walks (12), runs batted-in (8), walks (8) and doubles (5) to earn her first varsity letter. She was batting a career .313 average.
Then with just 10 games remaining in the regular season, the unthinkable happened for Kasai and the Yellow Jackets. On her last at bat of an OAC showdown, she hit a single into the outfield. During the next at bat, Kasai attempted to steal second but as she took off, she collapsed to the turf in tears. On that play, Kasai suffered a torn an ACL and meniscus, which required eight months of rehab.
As she prepared for her junior season and during her rehab, Kasai started to experience lower back pain. She believed that it was simply a matter of having to rebuild her knee's strength back to what it was. As Kasai finished her rehab and was given the go-ahead for full knee mobility, the next shoe dropped. A visit to her doctor, she was informed that she would have to forgo her junior season with a herniated disc.
Kasai took the unfortunate news in a positive way as she found out how much passion she had for her major. Kasai continued her love of softball and her camaraderie with her teammates as she became the team’s team photographer and social media manager.
In the last two years, Kasai has taken her role from the softball team’s social media manager and blossomed that into a thriving role within the Department of Athletics and women’s basketball program. She has served as the women’s basketball team photographer and social media manager by traveling with the team on road trips and even all the way to the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen.
In addition to her duties with the softball and basketball teams, Kasai collaborates with the whole athletic department to create including graphics, videos, and social media posts.
As her final season comes and her time in Berea comes to an end, Kasai is working on two last major projects, her Honors Program thesis and renovating and upgrading the men’s and women’s basketball film room, team lounge and hallways leading to Ursprung Gymnasium. Her thesis entitled the “Impact of Facilities on the Athletic Experience at BW” investigates how having excellent facilities can benefit a student-athlete’s performance and overall athletic experience. The renovation and upgrades will include wall art in those areas given to Kasai by the coaching staffs of both programs.
In the classroom, she has excelled as she carries a 3.87 grade point average. Kasai will earn her third Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection this spring. In addition, she is a Dean's List Student, Jacket Scholar and a member of Dayton C. Miller and Chi Alpha Sigma honoraries.
After graduation, Kasai, who is currently a graphic design intern for The Wonder Jam, a Columbus, Ohio-based strategic branding studio that supports small business owners, plans to continue her graphic design career either in the athletics or business world.
