S.A.R.C. Staff

Paul Edwards - Director

Paul was selected as the inaugural Director of the Student-Athlete Resource Center in March 2006. Prior to this he had served as the Coordinator of the Athletic Advising Program since 1992. Over the past two decades Paul has been involved in the academic support of Sac State student-athletes and has played key roles in helping the institution make the transition into Division I athletics. He holds his bachelor's degree in Business Administration and his Master's in Educational Administration.

Paul previously served as an academic assistant and peer advisor in several campus departments including EOP/Academic Achievement Center, the Academic Advising Center, the New Student Orientation Program, and Intercollegiate Athletics. He also worked in Admissions and Records during his time as an undergraduate.

A native of northern California, Paul is a twice graduate of Sacramento State. He comes from a family dedicated to higher education at Sac State. His father, Tom, was a former associate dean; his mother, Cheryl, worked in Library Circulations; and his sister, Stephanie, was an assistant in Admissions and Records. The Edwards family has had a presence on campus since 1964, with all four receiving degrees from Sacramento State. Paul is married to a fellow Sac State graduate and elementary teacher, Susie and has two boys, Tommy and Tyler.

Laurie Dahlberg - Coordinator of Athletic Academic Services

Laurie is responsible for providing comprehensive, professional academic advising and instructional support services to ensure academic success, retention and athletics eligibility of more than 450 student-athletes in all 20 varsity sports programs. She is also directly responsible for several programs including: the Sacramento State 5th year scholarships; Athletic Summer school scholarships; the NCAA 6th year degree-completion scholarship; the Academic Progress Report system; and processing Student-Athlete graduation evaluations.

Laurie attended Sacramento State earning a BA in Communication Studies (1992) and a MA in Education (1998). While attending school, she was a four year letterman in softball. After completing her BA, Laurie entered the private sector before deciding to return for her masters. While as a graduate student, she began working in the former Athletic Advising Program learning the trade of academic advising coupled with NCAA eligibility rules. She was hired as a full-time counselor in January 1998. Laurie married her husband Tom in the year 2000, and they have two sons (Sean and Bryce).

Mark McGushin - Coordinator of Life Skills and Student-Athlete Development

Mark has been with Sacramento State since 1997. Before becoming Life Skills Coordinator in 2002, Mark was the university's first full-time Compliance Coordinator. Mark earned his B.S. in Human Performance and M.A. in Sport Management from San Jose State University. Prior to coming to Sac State, Mark was a Compliance and Academic Advising Assistant at SJSU. Mark has also been an assistant coach at the collegiate (baseball, women's tennis and women's water polo) level and high school level (baseball and football).

Mark overseas the university's NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills Program (Challenging Athletes Minds for Personal Success) which strives to help student-athletes achieve Academic Excellence, Athletic Excellence, Personal Development, Career Development and a Commitment to Community Service. In addition to coordinating the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program, Mark provides advising support for student-athletes that exhibit additional academic needs.

Katherine Zedonis - Athletic Compliance & Financial Services Director

Katherine Zedonis joined the Sacramento State athletics staff in the Spring of 2005 as the Director of Compliance and Student Athlete Services. In early 2006, Katherine was traded to the Student Athlete Resource Center (SARC) for "considerations to be named later" and is now the Athletic Compliance & Financial Services Director. Prior to her appointment, Katherine worked for University of San Francisco in compliance. Katherine is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the athletics compliance office including monitoring and enforcing the guidelines of the NCAA and Big Sky Conference. She works with all the coaches, student-athletes and staff employed in the athletics department to ensure their compliance of NCAA rules. She also serves as liaison between the athletic department and financial aid office, while administering athletic financial aid. Katherine is responsible for investigating and reporting all violations of NCAA and Big Sky Conference rules.

Katherine attended UC Berkeley earning a bachelors degree in American Studies with a minor in Education (1999) and University of San Francisco earning a MA in Sport Management (2004). While attending Cal, she was a letter winner in field hockey. Even though Katherine was born in Sacramento, she was raised in Davis and considers it her home. Katherine married her husband Adam in 2004 and in 2006 they adopted their first "child" - Shooter, a black lab mix. In her spare time, Katherine coaches field hockey for a high school club team in Davis and hopes that some day the athletic department at Sacramento State adds the sport of field hockey.

Tina Westerhold - Compliance Coordinator

Tina became the newest addition to the SARC in March of 2007, when she was selected as Compliance Coordinator. Tina will coordinate with the Compliance Director to perform athletic compliance interpretations on various topics including recruiting, eligibility, playing seasons and athletic financial aid. She will also communicate regularly with student-athletes and coaches to advise them on the appropriate application of NCAA and athletic conference rules and bylaws. Prior to joining the SARC, Tina had been working as an Administrative Assistant/Travel Coordinator for Sacramento State Athletics.

Before arriving at Sacramento State, Tina spent 5 years at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletic Department. She first served as an Academic Counselor before making the transition to Director of Volleyball Operations. Tina attended Nebraska Wesleyan University earning a bachelors degree in Sport Management with a minor in Psychology (2000) and University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse earning a MA in Sport Management (2002). While attending Nebraska Wesleyan University, she was a 4-year letter winner for the Volleyball team.

A native of Pender, Neb., Tina is enjoying her recent move to Northern California. She greatly enjoys not having to shovel snow off her driveway during the winter! In her free time, she doubles as a tour guide for friends and family who are visiting from the Midwest......which means numerous trips to San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and Napa Valley!!

Josh Collins - Athletic Admissions & Initial Eligibility Coordinator

Although not officially part of the S.A.R.C., Josh is responsible for the admissions of all student athletes. He also checks freshman NCAA eligibility and monitors it through the Clearinghouse. Additionally, Josh is responsible for certifying NCAA transfer eligibility for all transfer student-athletes from community colleges or other four year universities. In that regard, he assists students with what needs to be done before they transfer to Sacramento State in order to be admissible and eligible to compete.

Josh earned his BA in History (1993) from Sacramento State and is currently working toward his Masters degree in Counselor Education from Sacramento State. Josh was a student-assistant on campus in the admissions office while earning his BA. He returned to the admissions office of his alma mater after a short hiatus of private employment and enjoying the great outdoors. He is married to his wife Heather (MA, Psychology 2005, Sacramento State), and has one daughter, Shea.

Shannon Watson - Admissions Evaluator

Shannon Watson is another "unofficial" member of S.A. R. C. Shannon is an Admissions Evaluator in the Office of Outreach, Admissions and Records who primarily works with transfer credit evaluations. She assists Josh Collins with processing student-athlete admissions and determining initial eligibility for new freshman and transfer student-athletes.

Shannon attended Chico State earning a bachelor's degree in Communication Studies with a minor in Business Administration in 2005. During her undergraduate career Shannon was an integral part of the Athletics Compliance office and worked directly with the Division II student athlete population. Specifically she worked with student athletes regarding academic advising and course scheduling. After earning her Bachelors degree Shannon continued her education at Chico and was awarded her Masters in Organizational Communication in 2007. For two years during her graduate career Shannon taught within the Communication Studies department as a lecturer for general education public speaking courses.

Shannon is a newcomer to Sacramento and spends most of her free time exploring the downtown area, which is within walking distance of her midtown home. When not cheering for her favorite NFL football team you can find Shannon outdoors swimming, fishing, hunting, or just enjoying the many beautiful lakes and rivers that the Sacramento region has to offer. In addition, Shannon enjoys traveling to parts of Northern California with family and friends, including the Mendocino coast, Chico, and the San Francisco bay area.