What the athletes study

 Have you ever wondered what the most common major among UW-La Crosse athletes is? After talking to 66 of UW-L’s finest student athletes, I have discovered the answer.

            Physical education, biology, and education were the three most common majors. Physical Education majors made up 19.7% (13 of 66) of the athletes polled. Connor Lonning, a Physical Education major, had an interesting perspective on his future. The cross-country runner said, “My career goal is not to have one.”

            There was a tie for the second most common major; both biology and education had eight athletes each. Terrence Thigpen is an Education major and is part of the track team. Thigpen said his career goal is “to inspire at least one student that isn't on the right path to be successful in life.”

Not all athletes are education or biology majors, and I discovered a few who have their own unique goals. Chris Callaway played goalie on the club soccer team and is an English major with a Communications minor. He said he chose this major because he wants “to pursue a career in the media, such as a sportswriter or on the radio.” Kelleen Gorenc is a defender on the girl’s soccer team and a Therapeutic Recreation major. Gorenc said, “I want to work for a city park and recreation department giving kids with disabilities the opportunities to participate in recreation.” Corey Geary plays shortstop on the baseball team and is an art major. When I asked Geary what his career goal is, he simply responded, “My only goal is to enjoy whatever I choose to do.”

A lot of students come to college undecided on what they want to do with their life. Kahlynn Hunt, a gymnastics athlete, fit that profile. Hunt said, “I came to UW-L as an 'undecided' freshman. My second semester I took a political science course to fulfill a general education credit, and the rest is history.” Now Hunt says her career goal is to attend law school. Some athletes still don’t know what they want to do in life, like Marketing major Meghan Dugan, who said, “Honestly, right now I'm not completely sure what I want to do with my major.”

My conclusion is simple: although many athletes tend to have fitness- or sport-related majors, there is still a wide range of majors among athletes here at UW-L. It’s like the commercial says: “There are more than 380,000 student-athletes, and just about all of them will go pro in something other than sports.”

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