Another in a series, we check in with Brandeis student-athletes about how they've handled the unique situations presented by the spring and summer of 2020.
Junior Devin Hiltunen and senior Niamh Kenney have made three NCAA Championship appearances between them and earned a pair of All-America honors. Devin was part of the Judges' NCAA Championship Distance Medley Relay as a first-year, while Niamh ran the fifth-fastest time in the nation in the 5,000-meter run last winter before the NCAA championships were canceled. Devin is double-majoring in biology and HSSP, while Niamh is premed and psychology.
How did your classes go last semester? Did you do well with virtual learning?
DEVIN: My classes in person went really well. When we had to go online it was still fine, but it just wasn't the same. I did well with virtual learning but I'd rather be in person for classes because it feels like there is a disconnect with the professor and other students.
NIAMH: Last semester was difficult transitioning online since I am in pre-med and psychology. Thankfully, my professors were very considerate of the circumstances and did everything they could to help students. I often did one-on-one zoom calls and, when needed, deadlines were extended to adjust to this situation. Overall, I ended the semester successfully but it doesn't make me want to do online classes again.
How did you spend your free time?
DEVIN: The free time I have I spend working out because I'm taking a summer course so I don't get a lot of free time.
NIAMH: My free time was mostly spent running or finding some good shows on Netflix. The best show I have watched is The Chi and season three just came out so I am looking forward to an episode every Sunday after a week of hard work.
How have you kept engaged with your coaches and teammates?
DEVIN: Thankfully, my team has stayed in touch through zoom calls where we do lifts or core workouts together. We also have zoom calls just to catch up with each other and see how everyone is doing. The coaches were very helpful in adapting to this new change by checking in on us and having calls to discuss how everything is going and giving us workouts.
NIAMH: Captains and I have been hosting meetings every other week to keep in touch with teammates. The coaches have also been setting up meetings to keep us updated. We hold trivia nights with one of the coaches every Thursday night and it's a great way to see each other. We also have weekly email updates to check in on one another as the summer continues.
How have you kept in shape for your sport?
DEVIN: For track, for me at least, it was a mix of being hard and easy. For the workouts, where we had to go run miles, it was easy because I could go run my old high school cross country routes. For the workouts that had to be on the track, it was hard because I had to find a time where there weren't a lot of people on the track and it's not too hot out. If I run when there's a lot of people, they don't really get out of your way on the track. It's hard to zigzag around them.
NIAMH: I have been increasing in mileage as the summer goes on and adding core exercises as well. I have also reached out to alumni or other cross country/track athletes nearby to start running together when they have a chance.
What's the first thing you want to do when you get back onto campus?
DEVIN: The first thing I want to do when I get back is to do a workout with my team on the track because doing track workouts by yourself isn't fun and I miss them.
NIAMH: The first thing I want to do when I get back to campus is walk down the Gosman stairs to the indoor track and see all of my teammates :)