Early education major and junior Sarah Glawe joined the volleyball team as a freshman from Allen High School.  

Playing in her third season as a Mustang this fall, the setter talks about how her team has grown and changed since she joined.

“I think my third year is definitely my favorite year, team wise, because I think we have made it a point to be a family on the team.” Glawe said, “In the previous years we were always friends but this year we have really tried to make a family kind of atmosphere so I know that no matter what the girls on the team have my back, and I have theirs and so that’s really great. I think [everybody] is adjusting really well to one another because I think we are all pretty different but we complement each other pretty well.”

Glawe said the workload is the most challenging part of being a student athlete.

“I think when you come in as a freshman the workload is pretty easy because it kind of builds up from high school but during season we travel twice a week and we have practice everyday for three hours and then study hall in between classes so trying to balance school and athletics… I think that it’s challenging for everybody but especially student athletes.

To handle the stress of being a student-athlete, Glawe plans out her day.

“To manage my stress, everyday I make out a plan of what I’m going to do… I know a lot of student athletes can handle themselves pretty well and just organize their assignments but I need some extra support so I go see a counselor at the counseling center and she really helps me to manage my stress and figure out what I need to do.” Glawe said.

Having had experience with the MSU Counseling center, Glawe sees no reason to shy away from seeking help.

“I could tell that where I was before wasn’t where I wanted to be in my mental health journey, and I could tell that I wasn’t myself.” Glawe said. “My mom, being a counselor, suggested it and I think if I had gone earlier I would have been helped a long time ago. Especially student athletes with how much we have on our plates all the time and we are expected to be perfect all the time, I think it can be a lot.

Glawe emphasizes that working with a counsellor is imperative to performing at the highest level of competition.

I think finding time for yourself [and] working on yourself, not only talking to someone but working on your health issues, is really important.” Glawe said. “Especially mentally because we are supposed to be in tip top [shape] physically, but not really mentally and we don’t really talk about that. So I think going to counseling and bringing up issues of mental health is really important.”

Sarah is also a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee or ‘SAAC’. The committee members include athletes from each sports team says Glawe.

“We come together each week and talk about how we can involve the community in sports and make the sports on campus more accessible and just better for everybody all around… I know that a lot of people would like to come and support but they genuinely just don’t know when [games are] and I think that sometimes athletes do a good job of staying with other athletes… if we could reach out to more people and be friends with more students then more support would come.” Glawe said. 

In the future, Glawe looks forward to teaching and later on pursuing a masters in counseling after MSU.

“I just want to make as many good relationships as I can, just helping people is something I love to do. I think I am really going to miss volleyball when I do graduate but I think moving on to a new chapter of my life is going to be really great.”