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NATURAL-BORN LEADERS
CURIOUS, COMPETITIVE AND CIVIC-MINDED STUDENT-ATHLETES
by Sarah Beaudry Arizona Athletics photos
How’s your fall season without volleyball?
Kind of weird — I played volleyball for 13 years.
What are you doing instead?
I moved back to Minnesota in May, and I am going into
2017 NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR sports management. I just interviewed with the Super
NOMINEE LAURA LARSON ’17 Bowl Committee and hope to get a job in logistics.
Sport: Volleyball | Graduated: May 2017 Most memorable Arizona experience?
Going to the Sweet 16 my senior year. It was
| Major: Molecular and cellular biology unforgettable to make it that far in the tournament.
What do you miss the most?
The team and the coaches. They are like my second
family. I am surprising them at their first tournament in
Nashville.
You graduated summa cum laude with a degree
in molecular and cellular biology and a minor in
biochemistry — why sports management?
I planned to go to pharmacy school. I met with a
pharmacy school adviser, and they asked me why I
wanted to be a pharmacist. It was then that I realized
I was passionate about sports management. I had to
admit to myself that it was the direction I wanted to go.
Life lessons from being a student-athlete?
Time management: Being a student-athlete, you have so
many responsibilities. You learn to prioritize what you
want to do and need to do.
And dealing with stressful situations?
When you play volleyball in the Pac-12, you have to
make split-second decisions that win or lose a point for
your team. Making decisions and sticking with them is
important.
On your nomination for NCAA Woman of the Year?
I could not be more honored. It is nice to know that
someone who is well rounded with athletics, academics
and volunteerism can be recognized. It’s really
important to me to know that all my hard work didn’t go
unnoticed.
Why the University of Arizona?
The second I met the team it was such a welcoming,
family environment. They cared about me as a person,
not just a player. And I couldn’t say “no” to the warm
weather compared to Minnesota.
46 ARIZONA ALUMNI MAGAZINE
