{"id":208040,"date":"2025-02-21T13:30:49","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T18:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sis.utk.edu\/?p=208040"},"modified":"2025-02-21T13:30:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T18:30:49","slug":"javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/","title":{"rendered":"Javonya Valcourt: Academic Achiever, Athlete, and Information Sciences Student"},"content":{"rendered":"

From being one of the fastest runners in the Bahamas to competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Javonya Valcourt is an exceptional track and field athlete and a dedicated junior studying information sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Originally from the Bahamas, Valcourt\u2019s journey took her to the United States, where she attended high school at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. Her remarkable achievements and relentless pursuit of excellence make her a standout both on the track and in the classroom.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\u201cIf I hadn\u2019t left the Bahamas, I don\u2019t think I would have been able to attend UT because it\u2019s such a small country, and opportunities are very hard to come by. So that\u2019s something I\u2019m grateful for,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

After graduating from Montverde Academy, Valcourt planned to attend Texas Christian University (TCU). However, she decided to follow Coach Duane Ross, who was coming from North Carolina A&T to UT.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized this is a great place. There are a lot of opportunities for students, and that\u2019s why I decided to come here,\u201d Valcourt explained.<\/p>\n

In addition to excelling on the track, Valcourt is a standout in the classroom. In 2024, she was named College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District and was included on the 2024 Spring SEC Academic Honor Roll.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cMy grades are important to me, not only because you can\u2019t run without good grades. I\u2019ve always taken school seriously,\u201d Valcourt stated.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Valcourt is very grateful for her upbringing in the Bahamas. Both of her parents still live there, and she visits frequently. She recalls that her initial interest in athletics did not start with track and field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started track when I was around 12. I did a lot of sports before then, like volleyball, and it just wasn\u2019t for me. People kept telling my mom to put me in track and field, so I decided to start from there. I\u2019ve been making a lot of teams since. My first national team was the world championships in 2021. From then on, I\u2019ve been on many teams and got an opportunity to go to school in Florida. Coaches started recognizing me since I wasn\u2019t in the Bahamas anymore, which led to more recognition and visits from schools,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"Javonya<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In the past year, Javonya Valcourt has been recognized as a U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Track & Field All-Academic Athlete. She also had the honor of competing in the 2024 Olympics on Team Bahamas for the mixed 4\u00d7400-meter relay. To qualify for the Olympics, Valcourt returned to the Bahamas to compete in their national competition, where she placed first in the 400m with a time of 52.2 seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt meant a lot to represent my home country. A lot of people from my hometown don\u2019t get this opportunity, so I\u2019m really glad. I had the fastest time in the Bahamas for the 400m last season. Hopefully, this season I can do the same and qualify for the world championships in Tokyo,\u201d Valcourt said.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Reflecting on her Olympic experience, Valcourt shared, \u201cOur team didn\u2019t perform as we wanted, but I\u2019m still grateful for the opportunity. It was amazing to see all these pro athletes I look up to and watch them run. I have many memories and videos from it. The stadium atmosphere was incredible; I couldn\u2019t hear anything because the crowd was so supportive. My home country was very supportive too. I was glad my mom could come down to watch, even though it was far. Overall, it was a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valcourt is determined to compete in the next Olympics, aiming to qualify for the 400m individual event.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"Javonya<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI plan to be at the Olympics running the 400m in four years. I was close to qualifying this time but didn\u2019t make it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Valcourt will be practicing her skills both on the track and off. She says her schoolwork is just as important to a successful career. Valcourt\u2019s initial interest in computers led her to study information sciences at UT.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\u201cBack home in the Bahamas, we had to take a computer class that focused on Word and Excel, which wasn\u2019t very exciting. But I remember a website where you could create your own site, and I was always trying to create my own website. From then on, I knew that\u2019s what I was interested in,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

She has particularly enjoyed her courses in user experience (UX) design, systems analysis, and problem-solving within her information sciences program.<\/p>\n

Valcourt has balanced being an athlete and a student well as she says academics have always been important to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just showing up to practice, everyone shows up to practice. It\u2019s the stuff you do outside of practice and I take that very seriously,\u201d she stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"Javonya<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Valcourt has been a part of VOLeaders Academy, which was developed to cultivate student-athlete leaders through sport to create positive social change.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s helped me to see more of a community here because I started off very timid, not trying to seek opportunities, and coming from the Bahamas is such a different culture. I feel like that program has helped me to try to see a community here, see connections, and make friends with other people,\u201d Valcourt stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Valcourt is grateful for both her academic and athletic achievements and for the support she\u2019s received from her family, friends, coaches, and faculty at UT. She says her mom has made it a point to attend every one of Valcourt\u2019s big meets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love track. It\u2019s just allowed me to meet a lot of people, allow me to travel a lot of places, and I mean my best friend we met because of the track. Almost all my closest friends are because of track and all the opportunities that I\u2019ve experienced are because of track\u2014like being here at UT,\u201d she stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Valcourt says she will continue to work hard both on and off the track. She is grateful for all the opportunities track and UT has given her to be a better athlete and student.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I adapted so well because something I go by faith without works is dead, as said in the Bible, and I, I always put hard work into everything I do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From being one of the fastest runners in the Bahamas to competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Javonya Valcourt is an exceptional track and field athlete and a dedicated junior studying information sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Originally from the Bahamas, Valcourt\u2019s journey took her to the United States, where she attended high […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":284,"featured_media":208041,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[197,56,208,196,198,168],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-featured-story","category-impact-stories","category-news","category-school-of-information-sciences","category-student-news"],"yoast_head":"\nJavonya Valcourt: Academic Achiever, Athlete, and Information Sciences Student - School of Information Sciences<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Javonya Valcourt: Academic Achiever, Athlete, and Information Sciences Student - School of Information Sciences\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From being one of the fastest runners in the Bahamas to competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Javonya Valcourt is an exceptional track and field athlete and a dedicated junior studying information sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Originally from the Bahamas, Valcourt\u2019s journey took her to the United States, where she attended high […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"School of Information Sciences\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-21T18:30:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kristen Gallant\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kristen Gallant\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21\\\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21\\\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kristen Gallant\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2aeec25f5d4e24cf6a1aa26462fb170d\"},\"headline\":\"Javonya Valcourt: Academic Achiever, Athlete, and Information Sciences Student\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-21T18:30:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21\\\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1081,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21\\\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"articleSection\":[\"Events\",\"Featured Story\",\"Impact Stories\",\"News\",\"School of Information Sciences\",\"Student News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21\\\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21\\\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\\\/\",\"name\":\"Javonya Valcourt: Academic Achiever, Athlete, and Information Sciences Student - School of Information Sciences\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21\\\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21\\\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-21T18:30:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2aeec25f5d4e24cf6a1aa26462fb170d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21\\\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21\\\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21\\\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21\\\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Javonya Valcourt: Academic Achiever, Athlete, and Information Sciences Student\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/\",\"name\":\"School of Information Sciences\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2aeec25f5d4e24cf6a1aa26462fb170d\",\"name\":\"Kristen Gallant\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/author\\\/kgallant\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Javonya Valcourt: Academic Achiever, Athlete, and Information Sciences Student - School of Information Sciences","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Javonya Valcourt: Academic Achiever, Athlete, and Information Sciences Student - School of Information Sciences","og_description":"From being one of the fastest runners in the Bahamas to competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Javonya Valcourt is an exceptional track and field athlete and a dedicated junior studying information sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Originally from the Bahamas, Valcourt\u2019s journey took her to the United States, where she attended high […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/","og_site_name":"School of Information Sciences","article_published_time":"2025-02-21T18:30:49+00:00","author":"Kristen Gallant","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kristen Gallant","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/"},"author":{"name":"Kristen Gallant","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/#\/schema\/person\/2aeec25f5d4e24cf6a1aa26462fb170d"},"headline":"Javonya Valcourt: Academic Achiever, Athlete, and Information Sciences Student","datePublished":"2025-02-21T18:30:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/"},"wordCount":1081,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","articleSection":["Events","Featured Story","Impact Stories","News","School of Information Sciences","Student News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/","url":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/","name":"Javonya Valcourt: Academic Achiever, Athlete, and Information Sciences Student - School of Information Sciences","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2025-02-21T18:30:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/#\/schema\/person\/2aeec25f5d4e24cf6a1aa26462fb170d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/02\/21\/javonya-valcourt-academic-achiever-athlete-and-information-sciences-student\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Javonya Valcourt: Academic Achiever, Athlete, and Information Sciences Student"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/","name":"School of Information Sciences","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/#\/schema\/person\/2aeec25f5d4e24cf6a1aa26462fb170d","name":"Kristen Gallant","url":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/author\/kgallant\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208040\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}