By Pritish BehuriaThe Daily Northwestern
For senior Lauren Greenwood, life can get busy.
Greenwood is president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and co-chair of the Relay for Life committee. She has been a part of these committees for the past three years and has balanced it with attending volleyball practices.
“She’s a very balanced student-athlete,” coach Keylor Chan said. “Her activism outside volleyball and commitment to the sport has helped her contribute to the Northwestern community and broaden her horizons.”
As SAAC President, Greenwood is the liaison between the athletic department and student athletes, acting as the voice of the student-athlete on campus. She said it has taught her to see the perspectives of both sides of every argument and made her a better well-rounded person.
Relay for Life is a club that raises money for the American Cancer Society. It involves relays in the Welsh-Ryan stadium and is held in November every year, raising over 180,000 dollars last year.
“I’ve enjoyed it and it’s been an awesome experience.” Greenwood said. “It’s opened up a lot of doors and allowed me to meet a lot of good people.”
Greenwood hopes to go to graduate school in Northwestern or any other big university and study Sports Administration.
“I hope to be in (NU athletic director) Mark Murphy’s shoes one day.” Greenwood said, “Or an administrator in any other big school.”
Even though Greenwood keeps herself busy, she only misses one or two practices because of meetings. She said Chan is very understanding and knows that it is important for her to be at those meetings.
“She does a great job, doing different things and is really active,” roommate and NU tennis player Alexis Prousis said. “She is really responsible, hardworking and manages to organize her time well.”
Greenwood has been injured every year of her NU career.
Prousis said Greenwood managed to come back from each injury and was admired by a lot of athletes for her determination.
Chan said Greenwood was a leader in the team and a lot of young athletes looked up to her. He said it was always great to see an athlete so involved on campus and interested in building a community like Greenwood is and hoped other young players on the team would follow her example.
“Leaders (like Greenwood) set the tone, tempo, work ethic and expectations in the team.” Chan said.
Greenwood said she got involved on campus because she felt it was important for her to give back to the community in some way.
“Getting involved (with activities) in my freshman year was the best decision I’ve made in NU,” Greenwood said. “It has taught me so much and allowed me to help others.”
Reach Pritish Behuria at [email protected].
