Aug. 12, 2016
By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Despite the demands that come with being a student-athlete, or perhaps because of them, Auburn volleyball players are excelling off the court, preparing to succeed in careers ranging from medicine to marketing.
From a summer internship at Under Armour in Baltimore, to attending an American Association for the Advancement of Science workshop in Washington D.C., to nursing students juggling 8-hour clinical rotations in season, these Tigers are about much more than blocks, digs and kills.
"It prepared me so well for the real world," said Mary Hannah Arrington, a 2016 Auburn graduate working as a nurse in the neurointensive care unit at Emory University hospital in Atlanta.
"Our team really emphasizes working hard, not only on the court, but in the classroom," said Stephanie Campbell, a senior middle blocker who represented Auburn at the science conference in D.C. "All of these opportunities are showing that we care about things other than volleyball. We're not one-dimensional people."
Breanna Barksdale spent the summer in Baltimore, interning at Under Armour." style="width:100%; height:auto;" class="imported_image" legacy-link="http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/w-volley/auto_a_storywide/12030517.jpeg"> Breanna Barksdale spent the summer in Baltimore, interning at Under Armour.
Breanna Barksdale, a senior middle blocker, spent the summer at Under Armour's global headquarters, working in product line management.
"We're fast-paced. We're always moving," Barksdale said during her internship. "Here, it's very, very fast. You're always busy."
Of the 10,000 applicants, fewer than a hundred are selected for summer internships at Under Armour.
"This is what I want to do. And once I got this internship, it was mind-blowing," Barksdale said. "I was pretty lucky to begin with, and I'm just working every single day to prove that I belong here and I'm not just an intern."
An aspiring doctor, Stephanie Campbell attended a science policy workshop in Washington D.C." style="width:100%; height:auto;" class="imported_image" legacy-link="http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/w-volley/auto_a_storywide/12030471.jpeg"> An aspiring doctor, Stephanie Campbell attended a science policy workshop in Washington D.C.
Campbell, who is applying for medical school with plans to earn M.D. and Ph.D. degrees, learned about the role of science in government at the AAAS workshop.
"Making informed policy decisions and how funding for scientific research works," Campbell said. "I thought it was a really cool experience because it was something I would usually never see or be exposed to."
Campbell says she makes lists to help her prioritize, allowing her to juggle the requirements of school and sport.
"Academics has always been important to me," Campbell said.
School of Nursing graduates Alyssa Ivey, left, and Mary Hannah Arrington, balanced academics and athletics at Auburn." style="width:100%; height:auto;" class="imported_image" legacy-link="http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/w-volley/auto_a_storywide/12030491.jpeg"> School of Nursing graduates Alyssa Ivey, left, and Mary Hannah Arrington, balanced academics and athletics at Auburn.
Balancing volleyball with Auburn's School of Nursing created a challenge for Arrington, and fellow 2016 graduate Alyssa Ivey.
"The coaches and the athletic department did a great job of letting us stay in the nursing program, which very few Division I schools do," said Ivey, who's working at Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital in her hometown of Nashville. "We practiced on our own a lot if we were to miss team practice. They were very, very helpful with all of that to make it work."
On several occasions, Ivey and Arrington worked from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. as nurses, before heading to Auburn Arena.
"It's hard to switch right away, because we had clinicals before matches, too," Ivey said. "So we had to switch our mindset really fast to be able to get in game mode. But we were able to do it somehow, and the coaches did a great job with all of that."
Ivey first fell the call to nursing in high school.
"You're on your feet. You're moving. There's so much adrenalin. You get to help people. It has all of the above that I wanted to do," she said.
Some of the skills learned on the volleyball court transfer to a hospital setting.
"The biggest thing I learned from volleyball that's going to help me in nursing is teamwork," Arrington said. "It's a team effort, working well with others, communicating and being organized."
Mary Hannah Arrington followed the example of her mother, a nurse, and her father, an All-SEC lineman on Auburn's 1983 SEC Championship team." style="width:100%; height:auto;" class="imported_image" legacy-link="http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/w-volley/auto_a_storywide/12030512.jpeg"> Mary Hannah Arrington followed the example of her mother, a nurse, and her father, an All-SEC lineman on Auburn's 1983 SEC Championship team.
Arrington's father, Pat, was an All-SEC offensive lineman on Auburn's 1983 SEC Championship team. Her mother, Liz, is a nurse. Mary Hannah followed both parents, becoming a student-athlete and a nurse.
"It was nice being able to talk to them, to have them help me go through that process," Mary Hannah said.
"When mom came home, no matter what happened that day, she knew she impacted someone's life and helped them," Arrington said. "That inspired me. I really wanted to do that."
For Auburn's volleyball players, past and present, the work habits and self-discipline they developed will benefit them throughout their careers.
"I appreciate it so much, looking back," Arrington said. "I'm so happy I had the chance to be a student-athlete, because I feel like I'm so much ahead of the typical college student because of everything we've had to do with balancing practices, school, time management. Communicating with people, and being proactive with things."
Working around the time commitments that accompany nursing, internships and out-of-state workshops requires flexibility from coach Rick Nold and his staff.
"Supporting our student-athletes' pursuit of their academic goals is our number one priority," Nold said. "While it may make practice scheduling a little difficult sometimes, it's just something we know we have to do.
"We are absolutely fortunate to work with such a smart group and we are so proud of the successes they have experienced both on and off the floor."
Auburn volleyball coach Rick Nold says supporting his athletes' academic goals is his program's top priority." style="width:100%; height:auto;" class="imported_image" legacy-link="http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/w-volley/auto_a_storywide/12030541.jpeg"> Auburn volleyball coach Rick Nold says supporting his athletes' academic goals is his program's top priority.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer