Athletes Excel in the Classroom

By Pat Mariboe 
Senior Writer

As another successful year of Washington College athletics comes to a close, many student athletes are being recognized for their endeavors off the field. Just recently, several student athletes got inducted into renowned leadership and honor societies.

Senior Maija Adourian, a four-year swimmer, is one of those student athletes who had the privilege of being named a member of the Cater Society and Phi Beta Kappa.

“It is such an honor to be a member of Cater Society,” Adourian said. “I am so lucky to have the opportunity to be a part of both Cater and Phi Beta Kappa. It is so great sharing intellectual curiosity and new experiences with the other members because we all have such different academic interests.”

Another new addition to the Cater Society, sophomore Jessie Willey, a member of the field hockey team, also touched on her induction into such a prestigious organization.

“I am really excited to be a member of the Cater Society because it’s a group that truly allows you to develop as a holistic scholar,” Willey said. “Each meeting has provided me with the opportunity to listen to really bright, dedicated, and creative students. The Cater Society emphasizes a companionship of learning that bridges the gap between different departments, a characteristic I think will be really helpful as I grow intellectually and socially as a member of society. It’s always a nice feeling to be able to surround yourself with some of the best students our school has to offer.”

Sophomore Sean Garin, member of the men’s soccer team and new initiate of Gamma Eta, talked about the significance of the organization and how he balances his academics with his athletic pursuits.

“I am honored to be a part of the Gamma Eta chapter here at WC, especially with the years of history the chapter is built on,” Garin said. “I balance my work and athletics based on the priority of the work. A routine helps throughout the week. The school calls us scholar athletes so our coach understands academic obligations come before athletics. My involvement in athletics keeps me time conscious and pushes me to do the work I need to complete without procrastinating.”

Adourian and Willey also echoed similar thoughts about their ability to excel both on the field and in the classroom.

“I’ve found that they [my teammates] actually work together to keep me on task,” Adourian said. “I need to be as involved as possible because the more structure to my day, the more efficient I will be as far as getting all my work done. Even though I am a ‘swimmer’ now, going to the gym with my friends is still something I enjoy doing, as I have been on sports teams for as long as I can remember. My team has been so supportive throughout my four years here. I may have had a tough day in the lab or gotten a bad grade on a test, but it’s never something a couple laughs in the pool haven’t been able to fix. I have remained motivated because swimming is sort of like academic learning in that there is always lots of room for improvement. I can always swim faster or learn something new, and I love trying to push myself to be better.”

“I’m a big proponent of everything in moderation so being a student athlete is pretty much the quintessence of that,” Willey said. “WC allows me to focus on school while still having the time to play the sport I love. The most important part of balancing both for me is creating a routine and sticking to it. I like to take time at the beginning of each semester to highlight times in my schedule that will be productive and free hours and then using them daily to stay on top of assignments. Organization is a big player in that, when I know what I have to accomplish I can just go to the library and take care of it. Being an athlete makes me a competitor and I often try to channel that drive for perfection into my schoolwork too. The field hockey team is also a dedicated team and we definitely motivate one another to be the best we can be in each area of our lives. We have standards for ourselves but also for one another and when it gets tough to balance I know I can look to a teammate and see her working hard and that will often give me the motivation I need to keep working. We have a really great team culture that emphasizes and celebrates the merits of hard work so I like to contribute to that in as many ways as possible.”

Each student athlete also talked about their plans for the future post-WC.

“I will hopefully work as a medical scribe during my gap year before medical school,” Adourian said. “Becoming a physician has been a dream of mine for quite some time, and I will do whatever it takes to fulfill that.”

“I’m still unsure exactly what I want to do in the future but right now I’m planning on going to Pharmacy school to pursue pharmaceutical research,” Willey said.

“I hope to pursue research in biochemistry after graduate school or attend medical school after my time at WC,” Garin said.

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