MOSCOW, Idaho – Hannah Ringel and
Tanner Christensen have been named January's Vandals of the Month. Both student-athletes enjoyed excellent fall semesters in the classroom.
Ringel, a Sedona, Ariz. native, is a fifth-year senior and is double majoring in microbiology and psychology with a minor in pre-health professions. She is an Honors Program student and has been able to earn an impressive 3.77 cumulative GPA during her time at the University of Idaho.
"I chose microbiology because I knew that I was always interested in the healthcare field," said Ringel. "I wasn't sure coming into college where I wanted to go with that, but now my plan has turned into going to Medical Laboratory Science school."
With her final semester beginning this week, Ringel has a course that she looks forward to the most before graduation.
"I'm enrolled in Medical Parasitology," said Ringel. "I have always been interested in parasites, viruses, etc. I'm really excited to learn about parasites and apply it to what I'll be doing in the future."
A thrower for the Idaho track and field team, Ringel placed third in the 2021 Big Sky Outdoor Championships in shot put and was crowned shot put champion at the Big Sky Indoor Championships in 2019.
Christensen, a Spokane Valley, Wash. native, is halfway through his sophomore year, majoring in finance. He has held a 4.0 cumulative GPA in his three semesters at Idaho.
"Finance has always been interesting to me," said Christensen. "My dad works in finance and I grew up seeing that and I found it was something that I really liked."
A new semester brings new challenges that Christensen looks forward to tackling.
"I am excited to get into my core classes and get into the higher-level finance classes," said Christensen. "That is what I am excited about."
Christensen is unsure what his future holds involving basketball following college, but one thing is for sure that it will involve getting into the finance field at some point.
"I want to work in finance as a financial planner or financial analyst and then eventually get an MBA sometime down the road."
Christensen comes off a true freshman season in 2020-21 where he played in every game, led the team in rebounds, and earned Big Sky All-Academic honors. Halfway through the 2021-22 season, the 6-10 forward has continued to make strides on the court, starting in 10 games so far while averaging 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds.
