By Barry McNamara

As a three-sport athlete for the Fighting Scots, Tanesha Hughes is a wonderful example of a student whose college education has been enhanced by participation in extracurricular activities such as intercollegiate athletics.

But Hughes is also a case study for another category of students at Monmouth. She said she wouldn’t even be at the college without the guidance and financial support she received from an alumni donor.

Hughes attended Peoria’s Woodruff High School, the same school where Virgil Boucher ’32 coached and taught. Boucher’s 1955 football team, which outscored its foes 285-7, played in the midst of a six-year stretch that saw him post a record of 49-6-5. Today, the practice football field at Woodruff is named in Boucher’s honor.

Boucher was also known for his civic service in Peoria, and that’s how Hughes met the legendary coach. She served as the Key Club president at WHS, and Boucher was a member of Kiwanis, the group’s parent organization.

The two discussed Hughes’ college options and, she said, “He told me he knew of some scholarship money that was available for me, but only if I went to Monmouth. That’s when I started looking here. Before that, I had wanted to go to an HBCU (historically black college or university) like Jackson State.”

Hughes was impressed by Monmouth’s campus and, with help from the scholarship program that Boucher had already set up for Woodruff graduates, she was able to afford tuition. She said that Boucher went beyond simply donating money, though. He also stayed in contact with her through letters and was able to visit with her when he came to campus for football games. Hughes said that Boucher was also present when she received a prize in computer science at the annual Honors Convocation.

Ironically, Boucher also had a teacher-coach in his life who had a similar influence on his college decision. Oscar Firth ’21 took a teaching job in Murphysboro after he graduated in Monmouth, and he helped steer young men from that southern Illinois community like Boucher and Bobby Woll ’35 to his alma mater.

Besides their ties to Woodruff, Boucher and Hughes are also a part of the rich history of Fighting Scots athletics. Nicknamed “Tige,” Boucher was a Hall of Fame football player for the Fighting Scots, leading Monmouth’s unbeaten team in 1931 as a two-way standout. Hughes has been a star for all seasons with her contributions in volleyball, basketball and indoor and outdoor track.

She’s experienced her greatest success at Monmouth in the latter sport, competing at the national meet as a junior. Hughes swept the discus, hammer throw and shot put titles at the Midwest Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships that season, earning one of the meet’s Most Outstanding Performer honors in the process.

In volleyball, Hughes earned all-conference honors this fall as she placed third on the team in kills and second in blocks. A super-sub her first two seasons on the basketball team, she led the Scots’ reserves in scoring as a sophomore. Hughes moved into the regular lineup as a junior, starting every game and delivering averages of 5.9 points and 5.1 rebounds. Her stats in the latter category figure to be even more important her senior season since Monmouth’s all-time leading rebounder, Ashley Yeast, has graduated. Indeed, she is off to a good start this season, averaging 13.0 points and 10.9 rebounds through seven games.

Besides being a shining example of how alumni can influence and assist prospective students, Hughes embodies both aspects of the term “student-athlete.” In fact, the scholarship money from Boucher is not the only financial aid Hughes has received. The USTFCCA Academic All-American in 2007 has maintained a GPA high enough to qualify for a Smart Grant that she’s received since her junior year.

“The Smart Grant has been a major help,” said the computer science major. “When I got the e-mail I had qualified for it, I was like, ‘Yeah, bring it on!’”

Still, the popular Hughes, who was voted Homecoming Queen this fall, knows who was most influential in her Monmouth College success.

“I appreciate everything Mr. Boucher did for me,” she said. “He helped me and my family a lot.”