Friday, May 15, 2020

Part of a regular series.

Throughout the year, GNACsports.com uses this space to profile conference student-athletes who are members of their respective institutions’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). In addition to providing feedback on the student-athlete experience, conference and institutional SAAC members also offer input on the rules, regulations and policies that affect student-athletes’ lives on NCAA member institution campuses.

Name: Rachel Rogers
Sport: Women’s Basketball
Institution: Western Oregon University
Year: Sophomore
Major: Business
Minor: Psychology
Hometown: Los Molinos, California

Why Did You Choose To Attend Western Oregon?: I chose to attend Western Oregon because it is the ideal home away from home. Western Oregon has the prettiest campus and the athletic department showed me dedication that I didn’t see anywhere else.

What Is Your Favorite Class You Have Taken And Why?: My favorite class was Nutrition with Amy Hammermeister. She made learning fun and engaging every day. She went above and beyond to be inclusive, positive and correct in everything that she said and did. I have the utmost respect for her teaching abilities and for being our faculty athletic representative.

Years Involved In SAAC: Two years.

The Reason You Chose To Get Involved In SAAC: I first joined SAAC because the members offered me cookies after practice and it baited me. I am now in SAAC to bring improvements to the lives of student-athletes. SAAC is a community that is looking to give back and participating in the 2019 SAAC retreat made me want to do just that.

Most Memorable SAAC Activity To Date: During the SAAC retreat, a few of us slid down a mud embankment and into a pond.

How Do You Feel Participating In SAAC Will Help You In Life After You Graduate?: After I graduate, I know I will carry with me the leadership and collaboration skills that I would not find anywhere else. Being a student-athlete requires discipline but SAAC fine-tunes everything about being an athlete into being a leader.

What Does It Mean To You To Be A Division II Student-Athlete?: Being a Division II student-athlete means doing all of the same work as Division I athletes but without all of the hype. I remain dedicated to athletics while also having endless opportunities to pursue a career of my choice.

What Is The Most Important Thing You’ve Learned About Balancing Athletics And Academics?: Just as any student-athlete would say, the most important thing is time management. My days are sometimes managed in 10-minute increments. As an athlete, you can't waste time if you want to be on top of everything.

Biggest Obstacle Overcome During Your Collegiate Career: My biggest obstacle has been dealing with mental health and finding time for myself outside of athletics. I learned that I couldn’t ice my emotions. It took time to understand what I needed in order to keep my mental battery charged to perform my best in the classroom and on the court.

Favorite Thing About Competing In The GNAC: The places that we get to travel to are beautiful.

Most Memorable Sports-Related Moment: A home game when we honored the passing of Dr. Bob Hautala, a beloved Wolves fan and professor.

Current Mentor(s): Kevin Wilkerson and Tony Smith.

Best Advice You’d Give To An Incoming Freshman: Decide who you want to become and dedicate all of your actions to becoming that person.

If You Could Spend The Day With One Person (Past Or Present), Who Would It Be (And Why)?: I would spend the day with Dale Carnegie, a famous author of life improvement and successful business practices.

Extracurricular Activities: SAAC and the Triangle Alliance.

Future Goals After Graduation: I want to use my business degree to remain involved in the GNAC.

Favorite Sports Team: Western Oregon Wolves.

Favorite Athlete: Diana Taurasi.

One Thing People Don’t Know About You Is: I enjoy writing poetry.