TO OUR EARS

‘A BALANCING ACT’Basketball star North uses time away from court to build foundation for careerBy Jeremy Wangler • jwangler@wufoundation.orgAlex North, left, was a star on and off the court at Washburn. He finished engineering courses in four years andplayed for the basketball team during a fifth year after suffering a concussion during his junior season. North saidKeith Mazachek, coordinator of Washburn’s engineering transfer program and lecturer in the physics and astronomydepartment, provides students with a perspective on what they need to know and how it relates to the real world.Alex North’s dominating presence on the basketballcourt was noticeably absent three years ago. Thestandout forward from Topeka missed most of his juniorseason after suffering a concussion early in the year.North, a Topeka native in Washburn’s engineeringtransfer program, didn’t just sit on the bench andwait to get back on the court. He used the extra timeto focus on his coursework, and that planning couldculminate in three degrees and a head start in theengineering field.“My time off the court allowed me to figure outhow much time I had to invest in academics and what Icould allow to basketball,” North said. “It’s all kind of abalancing act with college athletics. Coming back thatnext year, I was refreshed and had a different perspective.”North finished his engineering courses in fouryears but had one more season of basketball eligibilityremaining. He spent last year climbing the scoring and41 Sportsrebounding record books at Washburn while earningWashburn’s Male Senior Student-Athlete of the YearAward. He also spent the time taking prerequisitestoward a master of business administration (MBA)degree. He’s now enrolled in the engineering programat the University of Kansas (KU) and within two yearswill have a bachelor of science degree from Washburnand a bachelor’s degree in engineering from KU. Theoption to pursue an MBA will be there down the road.North realized early at Washburn that he lovedmath, a subject of little interest to him in highschool but so important for careers in his field. Theabsoluteness of numbers appealed to him.“There’s always an answer. It’s not really up forinterpretation,” he said.North credits Keith Mazachek, coordinator ofWashburn’s engineering transfer program and lecturer inthe physics and astronomy department, with guiding him.