Masters of Critical thinking - East Carolina University

Austin Homan, baseballThe college reality checkcame for Homan when hewas told to get upbetween 5 and 6 a.m.many mornings forstrength and conditioning.On top of that, the regularscience classes were muchmore intense than Homanhad ever encountered in high school inPennsylvania. But he found his rhythm, andas a senior he has a 3.36 GPA and his firstscholarship after playing as a walk-on forthree seasons. He will graduate with a degreein health fitness and return next year—his lastyear of baseball eligibility—for a master’s inphysical activity promotion. His ultimate goalis to own and operate his own health club.Samantha Lichtner,cross country and trackIf Samantha Lichtner’seducational and careerpath unfold the way shehopes, she will be a doctorworking with athletes likeherself. Her career goal ismedical school andtraining in osteopathicmedicine. Wherever sheends up pursuing her medical education,Lichtner is likely to have a step up on herclassmates because of the time managementskills she has honed en route to her 3.75 GPA.Competing almost nonstop from Augustthrough May, with separate seasons for crosscountry, indoor track and outdoor track, shedoes not have an offseason, creatingadditional strains on her academicobligations. As the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) this year,Lichtner takes every opportunity toencourage other athletes who are trying tokeep their studies in the forefront.Amanda Malkiewicz, soccerMalkiewicz’s careerambition would make mostof her peers cringe; shewants to be a high schoolcalculus teacher. When shecame to ECU to playsoccer from Forked River,N.J., she was fifth in herhigh school class of 420and as excited about what she saw in themath classrooms she visited as the prospectof playing her sport as a Lady Pirate. Asophomore, Malkiewicz has a 3.9 GPA andsees it as her responsibility to make sure thatyoung soccer fans who flock to the LadyPirates’ games have examples of academicdiligence. “Everyone’s always watching youas a student-athlete, so you have to be ontop of your game,” she said. “I was alwaysraised to know that school comes first.”Jarrett Newby,cross country and trackNewby has learned plentythrough his four yearsearning a 3.62 GPA inexercise physiology andnow as an MBA candidate,but some of his richesteducation has comeoutside the classroom andaway from the track. He’spresident of the local SAAC chapter and anactive member of the national SAAC. Hehelped craft legislation for student-athletesand got to know the men and women at thehighest echelons of college sports. This yearhe is the only student-athlete on the NCAADivision I academic cabinet. Thoseexperiences have convinced Newby that hemight want to pursue a career in intercollegiateathletics himself, when hisgraduate studies and Pirate running careerare behind him.Katie Prast, volleyballShe knew the demands ofDivision I volleyball mightmake it difficult, but Prasthad always hoped to studyabroad. In 2008, thanks toa summer program inArgentina that allowed herto return to campus intime for the preseason,Prast had that opportunity. “I studiedSpanish there for six weeks,” said Prast, asenior from Chicago. “I learned so much. Itwas so nice to be submerged in a totallydifferent culture.” With a 3.77 GPA in Englisheducation, Prast is looking to become a highschool English teacher. For now, shepractices those teaching skills by tutoringother athletes in the ECU writing lab.Greyson Sargent, basketballSargent came to ECU viaFork Union MilitaryAcademy after completinghigh school at a smallChristian school in Raleigh,so the freedom of a largepublic university was a bitheady at first. But giventhe chance to monitor hisown activities, Sargent thrived. “I enjoyed thefreedom to juggle school and sports,especially coming from military school,” saidSargent, a marketing major with a 3.52 GPA.Basketball has a demanding travel scheduleand a long season, and many times Sargenthas sought out the computer in a hotel lobbyand logged on to Blackboard to get thenotes he missed that day. Like Homan, healso just earned his first scholarship afterthree years as a walk-on.Joe Sloan, footballSloan is one of three of ourtop scholar-athletes whofinished their undergraduatedegree in three years, andlike Briese he is earning hisMBA while playing his finalyear of eligibility. He hasworked in his father’sdevelopment business, butthe ECU holder’s ultimate goal is to coachcollege football. He found MBA courses moredemanding and intense than undergrad (hefinished his finance degree with a 4.0 GPA),with plenty of group projects to preparestudents to interact productively with all typesof people. He has also had the chance totransmit his academic discipline to youngfootball teammates as the monitor for one ofthe study hall rooms. “I had some guys whocame in just out of high school and I helpedthem get their feet wet and understand whatthey were getting into,” he said.Kaui Tom, softballAs a member of the teamthat won three straightC-USA sport awards, Tomhas distinguished herselfamong overachievers bycompiling a 4.0 GPA inhealth education andpromotion. Tom came toECU in 2006 from Hawaiiwith two friends, Cristen Aona and CharinaSumner, who were also coming to join thesoftball team. All three of the Hawaiian playershave excelled academically every semester,and they have pushed each other to greaterheights, Tom said. “We have a commitment tothis as a team, and I think it stems from ourcoaches,” said Tom, who plans to train to be anurse practitioner in Hawaii after graduation.“They have set the bar higher for us.”Brooke Walter, tennisWalter broke a recordbefore she ever swung aracquet in an ECU uniform;she came in with moreadvanced-placementhours—46—than any athletehad ever earned. Thataccomplishment allowedher to graduate in threeyears with a degree in English literature (and aperfect 4.0 GPA) and when she went toLondon to study abroad after what shouldhave been her junior year, she was alreadyearning graduate credit. While in London,Walter studied British literature and film andgot to attend two Shakespeare plays, includingone at the original Globe Theatre. When shecompletes her last tennis season and hermaster’s in English literature, she hopes topursue a career in publishing. “I’m bored if notoccupied,” she said.East39