Page 48 - fall2017
P. 48

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
   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53