Best of Both Worlds: Being an Athlete and an Honors College Student
By Bianca Boling
Psychology Major, Honors College
Being a member of the softball athletics community at Grand Canyon University has helped me earn various benefits on campus. Being an Honors College student-athlete has given me the privilege of experiencing many more opportunities, which gives me the best of both worlds.
Being a member of a sports team provides you with automatic friendships from the very start. You train together every morning, practice together, have class together, eat and do every part of your day with one another.
Yet, I am also of the Honors College community. Friends that I had a class with during my first year are still my very good friends to this day. In other words, the Honors College provides a sense of community unlike any other group here on campus that also differs from the athletic community. Because of these two communities, I am able to have a vast variety of friends that I can connect with whether it would be for social, professional or academic reasons.
Being an athlete also helps me academically excel in the Honors College. For example, being a part of the Honors College requires you to attend the annual spring symposium. This previous year, I attended the symposium focused on service. With my athletic connections and background, I was able to get assistance from the athletic department to help me to successfully complete my project, which focused on bringing children from the surrounding community to campus to participate in physical activities with the help of our own GCU students.
As an athlete, I am required to travel for competitions and it has become one of my favorite parts of being an athlete. The Honors College also offers unique international excursions every summer that is exclusive to honors students. Fortunately, I have friends who are also involved in athletics and honors that will be traveling with me to Western Europe. It has been an unforgettable experience to be able to connect with friends through athletics and honors while traveling the world.
Being a student-athlete has taught me the importance of time management, responsibility and community. I am honored to be a part of both worlds and the unparalleled academic community of the Honors College and GCU athletics.
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More about Bianca Boling:
Bianca Boling is a junior first baseman on the GCU women’s softball team. She is also a member of the GCU Honors College and holds a student worker position within the Honors College. She is a part of various organizations such as the Student-Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC), Alpha Chi Honors Society and National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS). While pursuing a major in psychology and a minor in entrepreneurial studies, she hopes to open her own clinical psychology practice in the future.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Grand Canyon University. Any sources cited were accurate as of the publish date.