Three of our top student-athletes answered a few questions on how they approach playing sports and keeping up in the classroom.
CHRIS ARMSTRONG – FENCING – HIGHLAND PARK, ILL.
Senior Chris Armstrong boasts a 3.988 GPA and was named Phi Beta Kappa as a junior
What are your majors?
Chemistry and Physics
Do you have a particular field of study?
Not particularly, but currently high energy physics and electrical engineering. I’ll be heading to the Center for European Nuclear Research (CERN) next year.
What drew you to your majors?
Both my parents are scientists and I’ve always been curious about the natural world. I really enjoyed the hands-on experiments I’ve gotten to do by studying this field particularly. We get to go all the way through from asking high energy questions to actually building the setups we need to test those questions.
What are you hoping to do with your Brandeis education?
Eventually, I’d like to go into teaching. Observation, experimentation, and persistence define a scientific mindset and I think that gets lost in memorization and rote learning, especially in middle school.
How have you been able to balance your sport and your classwork?
A lot of dedication. I’ll plan out my weeks in advance, scheduling time for class, athletics, homework, dinner with a friend, etc. I’ve winnowed my priorities down to athletics, academics, friends/family, and lab work which has made it easier to focus on what’s important for me.
What lessons do you take from the classroom to your sport? Or vice versa?
I actually bring a lot of fencing into the classroom. In an education class I’m taking this semester, I draw on fencing for great examples of how to teach complex skills and what makes great teaching in general.
Focusing on and building off a few key skills and ideas is central to both physics and chemistry, and that becomes evident in how I fence. I observe what’s going on – how’s my opponent reacting, what are they doing that they’re comfortable with, when are they uncomfortable – and then I plan an action, an experiment based on those key skills/movements (extension, lunge, advance, retreat, etc.). With all that said, my coach’s main advice to me this year was to stop thinking so much. So there’s always room for a little improvisation in science.
Why was Brandeis and Division III the right choice for you?
I enjoy fencing – it’s fantastic to do for itself. Division III and Brandeis emphasize that intrinsic motivation in both athletics and academics. That’s made my time here personally rewarding and satisfying, and it means we all want to be for the sake of our own improvement, and that makes a really great community.
AVERY DONOVAN – VOLLEYBALL- PORTLAND, MAINE
Sophomore Avery Donovan owns a 3.557 GPA. In addition to her studies, she’s been working in Portland to distribute food during the shelter-in-place.
What are your majors?
I am double-majoring in Studio Art and Classical Studies with a minor in History.
Do you have a particular field of study?
I am on the Classical Archaeology and Ancient History track for my Classical Studies major. In Studio Art, I am mostly focused on painting.
What drew you to archaeology and art?
I have been interested in both disciplines since I was a child. I was always fascinated by mythology and ancient civilizations, while at the same time spending every free moment doodling in notebooks and experimenting with paint. I was drawn to the Classical Archaeology and Ancient History track because it is less focused on language and more focused on the study of ancient societies based on history and material culture, which I am far more interested in. As for painting, it was mostly experience that led me to where I am. I have known my whole life that I would be an artist, and over the years I have tried many different forms of art—and I always loved painting the most.
What are you hoping to do with your Brandeis education?
I’ve thought about teaching, curating, getting a Master’s degree, et cetera. I still have some time to decide, so I’m not super worried about it yet.
How have you been able to balance your sport and your classwork?
It’s definitely not easy, especially with the hours I have to spend in the painting studio outside of class. Volleyball practices are generally early in the morning, though, so that frees up the rest of the day to do schoolwork after classes, and a lot of the girls on our team can often be found doing homework while we travel to games and tournaments. We’re a very driven team, both on the court and in our academics, so we help motivate each other.
What lessons do you take from the classroom to your sport? Or vice versa?
The most useful tool that both my schoolwork and my sport have given me is time management. Having to balance the two while still making time for myself and my friends has taught me a lot about my priorities and how to use my time wisely. I have also learned a lot about my passions and working hard to get where I want to be through both athletics and academics in my time at Brandeis so far.
Why was Brandeis and Division III the right choice for you?
When I was looking at colleges, I knew I wanted to play volleyball, but my top priority was the quality of my education. I wanted to go to a Division III school because I knew that that balance would be possible. Brandeis was the right choice for me because it offers quality education and great programs for my majors, but also because of the community. When I met the volleyball team on my recruit trip, it was clear that they were like a family, and also that they were all very focused on academics. That combination of community and education as well as the fact that I could continue to play the sport that I love made Brandeis the right choice for me.
ERIN MAGILL – CROSS COUNTRY – SOUTH DUXBURY, VT.
Sophomore Erin Magill has a 4.0 GPA and was an alternate on the 2018 cross country team that finished sixth nationally.
What are your majors?
Linguistics and French and Francophone Studies. As far as I know, I'm currently the only student with these two majors. Both are very small departments, so most of my classes have been under twenty students!
Do you have a particular field of study? What drew you to that field?
So far I have been especially interested in phonology. Phonology is the study of the sound systems of languages. I like the way that phonology reveals the similarities between languages, based on how we produce and perceive sounds. This semester I got the opportunity to be a TA for a phonology class, which is challenging me to understand the subject more thoroughly. Hosting an office hour is one of the highlights of my week because it's a chance to talk about one of my favorite subjects and help other students understand it.
How have you been able to balance your sport and your classwork?
My time is split between school and running. All day, I go to classes and do school work, and then at 3:30 I come down to Gosman for track or cross country practice. At practice and on our runs my teammates check in on each other, asking how our days went, and we hear about the interesting things everybody is learning in their classes. I'm a morning person and I do most of my work in the mornings before my classes, then devote afternoons to running.
What lessons do you take from the classroom to your sport? Or vice versa?
When I'm running and my mind wanders, especially during a long run or a tempo workout, I often find myself thinking of phrases in French and how they're put together, or words I recognize but don't know the meanings of!
Why was Brandeis and Division III the right choice for you?
I chose to go to a Division III school because I wanted to be able to run for a competitive team, where I would have lots of chances to compete and could challenge myself to be the best runner I can be. The decision to attend Brandeis was based on both academics and athletics. I met the track team and coach and was impressed by how welcoming and how dedicated they were. And Brandeis is one of a fairly small number of Division III colleges with a linguistics program. While I wasn't certain what I wanted to study coming into college I wanted to have linguistics as an option. Now, thinking about the other colleges I applied to, I couldn't imagine being anywhere else.