As upperclassmen begin to approach the end of their collegiate careers, Augie athletes reflect on what they have learned over the years. Throughout their experiences, they shared both the highs and the lows of being a student athlete.
Joshua Wintroub, junior and pitcher for the men’s baseball team, values the community aspect his sport offers.
“It brings everyone together, having to go through the struggle of us playing sports here,” Wintroub said “Rallying behind a common goal really brings everyone together.”
Alexandra Buffington, senior on the women’s bowling team, shares a personal encounter with, at the time, a future teammate,which led to her choosing Augustana.
“When I decided to come here, it was because somebody else on a different high school team I didn’t know came up to me and said, ‘I’m going to Augie too, I heard you were looking into it. You should for sure come and we can be on the team together!’[…] There was just a different type of connectedness and personality to the people here,” Buffington said.
Although students have been able to find a world full of positives as athletes and a  sense of belonging with one another, this lifestyle is not easy.
Jacob Huffer, senior swim team captain, shares how busy his days can be.
“I have lifting at 6:30 in the morning, and then classes, and then practice at 4:30-6pm, and then I have to make dinner, and do all my homework on top of that,” Huffer said “So sure, I have a bunch of free time later on in the evening, but I am exhausted so I’m not necessarily down to see friends or anything.”
With having such full plates, Wintroub touches on how this causes more issues than exhaustion alone.
“Playing sports here is such a time commitment, and so just being able to balance school and sports is kind of tough,” Wintroub said.
Buffington confirms the ideas of both Wintroub and Huffer, sharing her perspective on time management.“I think that it’s really hard to understand the extra amount of work that we have to do to like maintain grades and still be student athletes… our competitions will be two to three days long, and it will last all day.”
Despite the ups and downs of the student athlete lifestyle, Huffer said it has all been worthwhile.
“I’ve definitely been appreciative of my time in swimming. It’s brought me my closest friends, my longest lasting friendships, and just the people I hang out with all the time,” Huffer said. “I recommend trying to join a sport on campus, and if you can’t, just joining something on campus because you are going to meet some of the greatest friends you could ever have.”