Being a collegiate athlete is already a very difficult challenge to any individual. Long practices and experienced competition are a few of the challenges of being a college athlete. For some, getting good grades is an afterthought compared to other parts of the college life. For others, it’s just part of who they are.

Senior Chelsea VanDeBrake is one of the others. VanDeBrake is a cross country runner who boasts a 3.96 cumulative GPA throughout her Cougar career and has been named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Cross Country First Team for three consecutive years.

VanDeBrake, an English major from Yakima, said she has had to employ some strategies to be successful at WSU.

“It takes a lot of time-management skills,” VanDeBrake said. “You have to learn how to separate your day into different portions. What I do is take everything one step at a time. It’s just a lot of time management and careful planning.” Nonetheless, there are some challenges associated with being a successful student athlete in college. Time constraints play a major role in collegiate athletics, making it hard to get everything done.

“The biggest challenge is not having enough time to get through everything, and having to miss class is hard because some teachers aren’t as fond of people who miss all the time,” she said. “But if you are willing to work with them, usually they will help you out.” VanDeBrake said she doesn’t feel that she is missing out on anything because of being a student athlete.

“I feel like being a student athlete is who I am, and it’s who I’ve always been,” she said. “So I just love it, and I don’t feel like I’ve ever missed out on anything. In fact, I feel like I’ve gained from being a student athlete.” There are some certain skills involved in being a successful student athlete.

“Being a very self motivated, goal oriented and driven (are the skills),” VanDeBrake said. “I try to be a perfectionist in everything I do.”