Motivated for Life
Five College of Education Athlete dedicate themselves to success in the classroom and in their sport

Andrew Fenstermaker

The College of Education’s student athletes face unique challenges in balancing sports and academics.

Andrew Fenstermaker, a punter for the Iowa football team, and elementary education major, said his sport demands a lot of time from him, with practice lasting for more than four hours a day, three days a week, plus meetings, traveling, games, and more.

“You learn to manage your time very wisely,” he said. “You probably make more sacrifices than the average student, but the coaches really stress that academics come first.”

In addition to learning exceptional time management skills, many student athletes also bring unique talents gained through sports to the classroom.

Troy Wulf (BA ‘00/MA ’02), an athletics coordinator in Athletic Student Services, works with student athletes to support them in finding a balance between sports and school.

“Most athletes seem to have an inner confidence that’s a positive thing for kids to see,” he said. “Especially when it comes to students in the College of Education. I think they are just good people, have good values, and are really good role models.”

Aaron Reasland

Aaron Reasland (BS ’06), a pitcher on the Hawkeye baseball team and secondary education major, said Wulf helped him fit sports, school, and teaching into his life with tips on time management. “Academics have to be a top priority,” he said. “You learn to study on the bus, in airports, in hotels.”

Reasland agrees that being an athlete will help him as a teacher.

“In the classroom, there are so many more lessons to be learned than just content. There are lifelong lessons to be learned,” he said. “It’s the same way on the baseball field. You can learn lessons from your teammates, from your coach. It’s about getting people to work together, share ideas, and to collaborate.”

Christine Kotarba

Christine Kotarba, a cross country and distance runner and elementary education major, said the self-motivation she needs as a distance runner will help her as a teacher.

“I think teaching takes a lot of determination, a willingness to look and see what you need to change and reflect on that, and be honest with yourself,” she said.

Kotarba’s coach, Layne Anderson, said he thinks Kotarba’s ability to overcome adversity, as an athlete who has dealt with injuries, will serve her in her chosen profession.

“As an educator who works with kids from all different backgrounds, you have to be pretty understanding, patient, and willing to work through things,” he said. “Christine’s ability to overcome adversity and work through challenges and patiently persist will certainly bode well for her.”

Through her sport, Kotarba has also gained leadership experience when she was selected team captain and president of the Iowa Student Athletic Advisory Committee.

Stacy Vitali

Stacy Vitali, a volleyball player and elementary education student, also has gained experience through her sport that will help prepare her for teaching. Each year, the volleyball team hosts Little Spikers clinics where players teach kids ages 5 to 11 about passing, setting, hitting, and coach them in games.

Vitali said working with the young volleyball players has helped her to see how kids learn and how she can reach them. “I use a lot of comparisons—like one girl used to toss the ball too high when she served, so I told her ‘Ok, we’re just letting a bird go, we’re not throwing it up,’” she said. “If you can have fun and learn at the same time, I think that’s the best type of teaching. That’s what I try to do in my lessons.”

Fenstermaker said being in a sport actually helped him decide that he wanted to teach.

“With football, in the first few years, you have to do a lot of volunteer work,” he said. “I got to experience being around kids, playing games with them, getting to know them. That led me to a desire to be around kids.” Fenstermaker is student teaching this spring at Horn Elementary School. He said football will play a big role in his classroom.

“Football functions as a team, everybody has a job,” he said. “I want everyone to take part in establishing a small community.”

Seth Tweedy

Swimmer Seth Tweedy said he can’t see himself being anything other than a teacher. “I want to make a difference, have a part in students’ lives,” he said.

The elementary education major student taught this semester at Longfellow Elementary School and said the discipline and motivation he learned through swimming made him a better teacher.

“When I perform as an athlete, I try to be highly motivated,” he said. “That is my number one goal for my students, for them to have goals, be motivated, and learn to compete.”