Sporting Life - Westminster College

www.westminster.edu“I have become a very organized, plannedoutperson. I live by my planner. IfI lose that thing, or something’s notwritten down in that planner, chancesare I won’t remember it.”A 4.0 student in high school, McDermott had surgery in her senioryear to repair a torn ACL. At the ensuing physical therapy sessionsshe developed an interest in biology. But she soon discovered thather affections were focused more on sports than on the science. Soshe switched with an eye on teaching and coaching someday inthe future. She got a taste of that in high school. When her injuryprevented her from playing basketball, McDermott stayed on as avolunteer assistant coach.“I have to keep my options open. I’m all about that,” said McDermott,who has a 3.7 GPA and is considering law school.While the first few days of grad school may be chaotic, McDermottwill no doubt be prepared.“I’m a little surprised at how well I’ve become accustomed to allottingmy time,” she said. “I’m very organized now. It kinda scaresme a little bit.”Fast Facts...Katlin E. McDermottHometown: Austintown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch H.S.Class: SophomoreMajor: History, minor in secondary education andSpanishGPA: 3.7Sport: VolleyballOrganizations: Phi Alpha Theta (historyhonorary society), Student Pre-Law Association,College Democrats, SAAC vice presidentHonors: Dean’s List, PAC all-academic team(Fall ’05), PAC SAAC student-athlete of the month(Sept. ’05), PAC athlete of the week, All-PAC honorablemention, Thomas More all-tournament teamKatie McDermott ’07Things sure have changed for Katie McDermott.The junior middle/outside hitter for the volleyball team admits shewas overwhelmed in her first semester at Westminster. Coming froma tight-knit family in Austintown, Ohio, she chose Westminster overcloser schools Youngstown State University, Mount Union and Baldwin-Wallace,and struggled in her first days to leave behind longtimerelationships with her high school friends and teachers, while aimingto build strong ties with her new college peers and professors. Not tomention her new coaches and new teammates. She wondered if she’dbe able to compete at the next level (she could); if biology was the rightmajor for her (it wasn’t); and even if Westminster was where she wantedto continue her education (it was).“As a freshman I was very overwhelmed. I didn’t know if Westminsterwas the right place for me,” said McDermott, now a history majorminoring in secondary education and Spanish. “But I stuck with it. Icouldn’t imagine not going to this school now. Over the course of myfreshman year to my sophomore year I realized that, ‘Wow, I really likeit here. Things are going to work. Things are going to be OK.’ Eventhough things were hard at the beginning, you can’t give up on whatyou’re doing.”16 Winte r 20 06 • Wes tminste r C ollege Magazine