Galloway Township, NJ – Stockton University’s softball team honored the late Tara Jean Barker, a former star athlete and student, by donating $800 in tips raised at concession stands during the ShopRite LPGA Classic tournament, held May 29-31 at the Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club, to the Tara Jean Barker Memorial Scholarship endowment.
Barker, a two-time Stockton graduate who earned a Biology degree (2006) and a Doctor of Physical Therapy (2008), was the first softball player to be inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013, which is the year she lost her 17-month battle with cancer. Her parents, Greg and Beverly Barker, established a memorial scholarship endowment through the Stockton University Foundation in their daughter’s name.
Tara Barker was passionate about helping others, and the memorial endowment established by her parents supports scholarships for graduate students within the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. Barker wrote in her Facebook page description, “I am a happy person, and I smile constantly. I love my job. I heal people for a living. You can’t beat taking someone’s pain away.”
Val Julien, Stockton’s head softball coach who will soon be moving into a new role in game management and operations, said, “Tara was a remarkable individual who truly embodied the Stockton spirit. She was so special and very important to us. We are so pleased her incredibly courageous parents worked with the university to create this fabulous memorial scholarship and we are so pleased to be able to donate this money to the scholarship and to remember Tara in that way.”
Barker worked as a student athletic trainer in high school and continued that tradition for six years at Stockton. After finding work as a physical therapist, she returned to Stockton every year to participate in job fairs and career days to promote Stockton’s physical therapy program.
Barker worked as a student athletic trainer in high school and continued that tradition for six years at Stockton. After finding work as a physical therapist, she returned to Stockton every year to participate in job fairs and career days to promote Stockton’s physical therapy program.
The Tara Barker Memorial Scholarship was awarded this past academic year and was recently awarded for next academic year.
Photo Caption: Members of the Stockton Softball Team with Dr. Harvey Kesselman, Coach Val Julien, Assistant Coach Adele Calimer and Talon the Osprey at the ShopRite LPGA Classic held at Stockton Seaview May 29-31. Coach Julien holds a basket of money with a sign that reads, “All tips will be generously donated to the Tara Jean Barker ’06, DPT ’08 Memorial Scholarship.”
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