Being a freshman at Lehigh can be demanding, but being a freshman student athlete presents its own set of challenges such as competing at the Division I level, maintaining academic standards and balancing stress.
Freshmen Linzell Robinson of the track and field team. Robinson said the P.R.I.D.E. program has given him a foundation to learn from and lean on. (Sasha Clark/B&W Staff)
“I think honestly coming on a team is great for a first year,” said Linzell Robinson, a freshman on the track and field team. “Right away it gives you a foundation you can lean on if you need help.”
One aspect of the foundation Robinson referred to is the P.R.I.D.E. program. The name of the program is an acronym, standing for Personal Responsibility In Determining Excellence. All freshman athletes complete the P.R.I.D.E. program, which aims to help students in their academic, athletic and social transition to Lehigh.
“All our student athletes come in a day early for student athlete orientation, and that’s when P.R.I.D.E. kicks off,” said Katie Guynn, the director of student athlete academic services. “The whole point of it really is to help them feel a part of the student-athlete community and ease their transition to Lehigh.”
Freshman student athletes are divided into huddles, which are groups of about 10 people. They then participate in exercises and conversations facilitated by an upperclassman Student-Athlete Mentor, also known as S.A.M.’s.
Junior Jack Petersen of the tennis team is a mentor in the P.R.I.D.E. program. Petersen said P.R.I.D.E. is a valuable assest to both freshmen and upperclassmen. (Sasha Clark/B&W Staff)
Junior tennis player Jack Petersen is a S.A.M. for the P.R.I.D.E. program.
“We try to build relationships and act as role models for the freshmen,” Petersen said. “We do exercises and activities with them to teach skills like time management, scheduling and other skills that will be important down the road.”
Petersen said the P.R.I.D.E. program has been a valuable support system to him both as a freshman and an upperclassman.
“It was nice to have veteran student athletes help guide my way through (my first year),” Peterson said. “My time as a student athlete has been unbelievable, and I love being able to help the next generation of athletes have the same experience I’ve had.”
In addition to being an academic support system, the P.R.I.D.E. program also has allowed other first-year student athletes to meet students on other teams.
In addition to the P.R.I.D.E. program, Lehigh’s athletics department has academic support resources specifically for athletes. Guynn is a member of the Dean of Students staff and essentially works as a resource connecting athletes to services.
She also meets with student athletes individually to help them acclimate to Lehigh’s academic standards.
Katie Guynn, director of the student-athlete academic services. Guynn oversees the P.R.I.D.E. program which all freshmen athletes go through. (Courtesy of Lehigh.edu)
“It might be time management or how to study more efficiently, how to read more efficiently or maybe it’s a little bit of planning,” she said.
One of the biggest challenges of being a freshman student athlete is time management skill.
“I think all Lehigh students experience that at some point,” Guynn said. “The physical demands are higher and then all of a sudden school starts, and it’s a super demanding academic place and you have got to figure out how to get it all done.”
Freshman member of the swim team Amanda Zlotnikoff also reiterated how adjusting to Lehigh is multifaceted.
“Some of the challenges of being a first-year student athlete definitely include time management and adjusting to a new practice schedule,” Zlotnikoff wrote in an email. “Coming in as a first-year student athlete, you’re accustomed to a schedule you followed almost your entire life, and now that you’re in college, everything is completely different.”
Individual teams also have their own programs in place to ensure their athletes are managing their academic transition. Most teams require study hours for freshman athletes in addition to providing other academic and social support for players.
Freshman athletes also have to adjust to the level of competition between high school varsity and college-level athletics.
“I think the thing I am most nervous about in the spring is actually competing among other Division I athletes,” Robinson said. “In high school you go from being one of the best, especially on your team, to being back at the bottom of the totem pole and you have to get back up.”
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