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Katie Glaws

Background

In her hometown, a suburb of Canton, Ohio, Katie Glaws grew up in what she describes as a neighborhood of boys. She’s even the middle child between two brothers. To this day, Katie considers herself a tomboy. Not only did she grow up surrounded by boys, but she grew up playing sports with them.

“Our whole family is pretty sports oriented,” she said.

During high school, in addition to playing softball and volleyball, Katie was a guard on the basketball team, which won the 2002 Division I state title.

Why IUP

Katie wanted to continue to play basketball in college. “I couldn’t imagine going to college without playing a sport,” Katie said. “I’d just have so much down time I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”

She knew she wanted to play for a Division II school. “It’s still your job, but it’s not as intensive as Division I. Coaches own you in Division I,” she said.  Katie wanted time to devote to her education as well and sought a university where she could make the most out of it.  IUP’s Division II status combined with the Robert E. Cook Honors College offered Katie what she was looking for; with an added bonus the other schools she considered didn’t offer.

“It’s the perfect distance,” Katie said. Three hours from her home, IUP is close enough that she and her family can travel back and forth, even in one day if necessary, but not so close that she feels obligated to visit regularly.

School Stuff

Business is the main focus of Katie’s education. She chose Accounting as her major during the spring of her freshman year after being encouraged to take a course by an adviser at orientation.

Katie credits her coaches with reminding her and her teammates of the importance of their education. Student athletes are encouraged to take their classes as early in the day as possible so that they don’t interfere with practices and games. (This is one reason why athletes schedule before any other student each semester.) Still, sometimes there are scheduling conflicts.

“So far all of my teachers have been really cool about my missing class,” she said.

It’s been Katie’s experience that if a student athlete goes to class regularly and makes an effort, professors are pretty understanding. Of course, Katie’s idea of making an effort may be a little different than most. She has a 4.0 GPA.

Things You Do

Katie is the starting point guard for the women’s basketball team, which has a notoriously long season. Conditioning begins in mid-September. In mid-October a month of practices begins before the first game in mid-November. If all goes well, they can play through March. In addition to games and practices, there is a lot of traveling involved with collegiate sports.

With that kind of a schedule, one might think that athletes don’t have time for extra-curricular activities. Instead, Katie is a member of Campus Crusade and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which are Bible study groups. The second relates scripture to sports.

Katie also spends time with her friends, a group that includes, but is not limited to, her teammates. They enjoy IUP’s recreational areas and going to “cheap movies” at the Indiana Theater uptown.

She admits that she sometimes gets stressed out by all she has to do with school and sports, but is quick to point out that games and practices help to relieve some of the tension and provided needed breaks from studying and school work.

Around Here

Katie recognizes her position as both a role model, especially to younger female athletes, and as a representative of IUP, but she takes it as motivation to do her best.

“It’s not pressure; it’s pride.”

Being a student athlete makes you more visible in the community. The community really embraces the teams, according to Katie. As a member of the basketball team, Katie is also privileged to another unique perspective of IUP off the court. While most students are at home during the break between Fall and Spring semesters when there are no classes, the men’s and women’s basketball teams are still on campus for practices. During that time, the teams hang out together a lot, sled riding and appreciating the small town holiday atmosphere, Katie said.

“I feel like it’s almost my home now.”