Emma Yoder | Jax State Bowling

Hometown/Current City: Wooster, Ohio
Undergraduate Major: Accounting
Postgraduate Field of Study: N/A

How did playing college sports shape who you are today?
Being a collegiate athlete has allowed me to grow tremendously as a person. In sports overall, there comes a lot of failure, frustration, and struggles. With that, there comes way more success, achievements, and joy. Learning how to deal with the frustration and struggles while playing a sport in college allowed me to take that mindset and apply it into my personal life. As an athlete, sitting and soaking up the achievements and success is important, as it allows for me to see how far I’ve come and that there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Life comes with ups and downs, but how you handle the negatives speaks. I’ve learned how to deal with the negatives quicker by letting go of things that aren’t in my control and not taking for granted all the positives that come. College sports has created a mindset that anything is possible and not to take the short time for granted, which is how I tend to see life itself.

What career path are you pursuing after college?
I plan on pursuing a career in Forensic Accounting after college. In the end, I hope to work with the FBI, but anywhere within forensic accounting will do.

Which class has been your favorite and why?
I have 2.
I really enjoyed my Principles of Accounting I class because it’s just the basics of accounting, like dipping your toes into the water to see what it’ll be like. It showed me what simple accounting had to offer and allows me to put my love for numbers to use.
I enjoyed my Introduction to Forensic Investigation class, too. Before I was an accounting major, I was a forensic investigations major. This introductory class covered the basics to investigation. I enjoyed learning about the basics and growing my knowledge around the investigation scene. It was an interesting class as the lecture notes shown had real-life crime scene photos. The professor for this class made it enjoyable, too, as he worked in the field for a long time.

What’s the best advice you ever got from a coach or teammate?
I would say that the best advice I’ve received from a coach is “embrace the struggle.” Going through struggles in your sport is frustrating, everyone knows that. Sometimes it’s hard to realize that the difficulties and discomfort allow you to grow as an athlete. Learning to accept it instead of avoiding it, you realize that the struggles can teach you a lot about yourself as not just an athlete, but a person, too. Embracing the challenge allows you to work through with a different mindset instead of being negative about it. Once you work through the struggle, you come out with a lot of growth and resilience. The feeling of performing well in competition after a discomforting time allows you to realize that you’re able to overcome challenges thrown at you and you come out as a better athlete in the long run.

What advice would you share with today’s student-athletes?
Don’t take the time in college for granted. Many student-athletes, me included, tend to forget how quickly college flies by because we’re consumed by our athletics. In the end, it’s only 4 years spent with some of the best people you’ll ever meet. Enjoy the competitions, the travel days, the dinners, the hotel stays spent with your teammates because sooner rather than later that time will be up. My roommates and I have talked frequently that after college, we’ll wake up one day, walk out into the living room, and we won’t be with each other anymore. Never take the time spent for granted and created memories that will last a lifetime. Outside of that, I think it’s important to find friends outside your team as well. It allows for you to take a mental break outside of your sport and just enjoy the college scenery. College is a huge steppingstone in your life and it’s important that you make the most of your time there.

How has being a student-athlete helped you succeed in the classroom?
Being a student-athlete has helped me grow and succeed in the classroom, specifically with time management and work ethic. To put it simple, I like to succeed in the things I do, the main two being academics and athletics. When I’m at practice, I put in work to become a better athlete every day. When I’m in competition, I stay focused to perform how I practice. I believe this translates into the classroom. Growing my work ethic and learning time management skills has allowed me to stop procrastinating as much as I used to. I focus on the days I can be in class and try my hardest to keep up when having to teach myself while traveling. I stay disciplined when it comes to free time by getting schoolwork done as early as possible, so I’m not as stressed throughout the week. When I’m less stressed, academics come easier to me.

What’s your best tip for balancing athletics and academics?
Do not procrastinate and become good with time management. Looking from an outside perspective, people know that student-athletes have busy schedules and miss class frequently due to traveling. When you experience it first-hand, there’s a lot more stress that comes into it besides those 2 factors. I was always a big procrastinator when it came to schoolwork, and I’ve learned how to manage it. Time management will be your best friend when balancing not just athletics and academics, but your personal life, too. Learn your athletics schedule, learn your semester schedule, find your down time between both, and make use of that time to the best of your abilities. Having fun outside of your sport is important, but it’s a lot easier to enjoy those moments when you don’t have tons of assignments piling up.