Where There's a Will There's a Way

McCann goes for two.

Becca McCann, a forward on the Iowa women's basketball team and elementary education major, said participating in a sport forced her to give up procrastination.

"I had to constantly do everything right away because there was no time to put it off," she said. She also had to learn to do homework in any setting. "I did a lot of homework on planes and in hotel rooms when we were on the road," she said. "There's enough time as long as you use your time wisely and effectively on the road."

McCann said her professors were always understanding of her need to miss class for away games. "They knew ahead of time the days I'd be gone, so they'd wish me luck and say, 'See you next time'," she said. "It was such a relief to be able to focus on both school and my sport and not have to battle with people who weren't being supportive of that."

McCann leads her students during a mini field trip visiting farm animals.

With her professors' and coaches' support, McCann was named both academic all-Big Ten as well as a team captain.

McCann was inspired to teach after visiting her older sister's classroom. "My sister is a hearing-impaired teacher in preschool special ed.," she said. "I went to her classroom and just loved it."

McCann is splitting her time this fall student teaching at Hoover Elementary School in West Branch, Iowa, and in a kindergarten-through-sixth-grade resource classroom at Shimek Elementary School in Iowa City.

Russell Peterson (BA '04) flies over hurdles as a member of the Iowa men's track and field team. He said sports present a metaphoric hurdle as well.

"When I first started school it seemed like I didn't have time to do anything at all because we practice four hours a day, at least," he said.

Peterson said he has a much easier time keeping up with school and his sport now that he's nearly finished with his degree.

"It's just something I had to get used to. I wanted to be in track, but I also wanted to get my education. And I wanted to do well in both, so I had to find a way to do that," he said.

One thing Peterson had to do to accommodate both sports and education was put off student teaching until after the track season, especially since he qualified to run in the NCAA championship in Austin, Texas, last summer.

Peterson assists his students with an art project.

Peterson, whose mother is an art teacher, is an art education major. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in art in Dec. 2003, and will finish his education degree this December.

Peterson said he's excited to student teach this fall at Hills Elementary School in Hills, Iowa, and Regina, a catholic school in Iowa City. "I've always liked art. I think it's a great thing that I can teach something I really enjoy," he said.

Gran shows perfect form.

Stephanie Gran, an Iowa gymnast, originally thought she'd study medicine, until she volunteered in a kindergarten classroom and fell in love.

"There was never a day that I didn't enjoy being around the children and I just knew that was where I wanted to be," she said.

Gran chose to major in elementary education with an emphasis on special education.

"I decided that because the children with extra needs were the ones in the classroom that I was naturally drawn to," she said. "The children I've come in contact with have been some of the most amazing children I've ever met, and unfortunately sometimes get overlooked in the classroom."

Gran, who was named academic all-Big Ten and academic all-American as a Hawkeye, said it was hard to schedule classes and practicum around her workout and practice schedule. Gymnastics often took up to 20 hours per week, including morning weight training and cardio workouts and gymnastics training every afternoon.

Teaching children is one of Gran's favorite things.

"Some days I would go to class, run into the gym and then back out to class all before lunchtime," she said.

Like Peterson and McCann, Gran put her student teaching off until her fifth year so that it wouldn't interfere with her competition season.

"Otherwise I would have missed too many school days and would have had to work out alone every day," she said.

Gran, who has recorded a handful of perfect 10.0 scores on the vault while at Iowa, is student teaching this fall at a magnet school for performing arts in Houston, Texas. "The student population is very different from where I grew up and where I have taught or volunteered in Iowa City, so I am very excited," she said.

Banse demonstrates strength in the shot put.

Andy Banse (BA '04), who throws the shot put, hammer, and discus on Iowa men's track and field team, recently graduated with a degree in elementary education.

He said student teaching was definitely a full-time job. Banse taught in kindergarten and first-grade classrooms at Kate Wickham Elementary School in Iowa City.

"I had to be at school at 8 AM., I'd be done at 4 PM, and then I'd go train for two or three hours. So I'd get home around 7 p.m. That's a pretty long day," he said. But Banse, who was named academic all-Big Ten, said he's known for a long time that he wants to be a teacher.

Banse enjoys working with students as much as they enjoy learning from him.

"I just enjoy working with people, especially children, it's something I enjoy," he said. "So it was a pretty easy choice for me."

Banse also enjoys participating in his sport, even though it means several hours of training every day, all year.

"If you have a passion for something, you can always find a way to make it work," he said. -by Heather McElvain