Vol. 8 - Nursing Student-Athletes Maggie Shaw & Megan Kaufman Take It One Day At Time
It's 7:30 A.M. and the sun has made its full presence known for just a little while now, shining bright on what is still considered a brand new, multi-million dollar UTC Sports Complex. A group of female student-athletes, dressed in some sort of combination of their usual blue and gold university colors with the "Chattanooga Soccer" insignia written throughout parts of the attire are making their way to a familiar synthetic turf. It's the beginning of the week, a Monday, and junior Maggie Shaw and her fellow UTC women's soccer teammates are starting practice to begin their day.
One of those teammates just so happens to be her twin sister, Samantha, with whom she regularly performs dynamic duo-like maneuvers on the pitch. Like when Maggie dribbled down the left side of the field, crossed it over to Samantha, then Samantha headed it in for the game-winning goal against Wofford this past season.
"That happened a couple of times in high school, too," Shaw said. "I think just … maybe she's easier to find just because I know she's there. There's like a twin connection kind of thing."
It's now 8:45 A.M. and Shaw and her teammates are leaving the field, another practice done. Some may be headed back to their dorms or apartments, hoping to catch up on some sleep, grab some breakfast or study for an upcoming exam. Others are heading to their first class of the day, like Shaw.
Shaw is, of course, a student-athlete, with the focus of the latter part of that title being that she helps defend goals for the Mocs on the soccer field. The former is that she spends, at times, upwards of two-and-a-half hours in the classroom per class, pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing.
From 9 A.M. until 2:30 P.M, she'll be in classes, with an hour break around 12:30 P.M., only to reshift her focus back again to soccer. This time, however, it will be in the weight room for training. When 2:30 finally arrives, it's back to where she calls home where she'll shower and eat. But more than likely, the day will call for a visit to the library for a study session that will last until about 10 that night.
"And then Tuesday do it again," Shaw said.
Megan Kaufman, a senior, can certainly empathize with Shaw as she's a nursing student as well, about to enter her last semester of nursing school this fall. Up until this past September, she was a career-setting dig artist, libero on the volleyball team.
"It was crazy day-to-day," Kaufman said of her time playing both roles of student and athlete. "When I look back, I am constantly impressed as to the fact of how I got so much done in a day. You're a student and then you're an athlete, and that's basically kind of the beginning and end of what my life looked like.
"My motto throughout all of this was one day at a time."
Each day proved at times to be a challenge to find any sort of balance in both Shaw and Kaufman's lives. Great amounts of time were being consumed by either their studies or their sport, which led to the scales heavily tipping in favor of work and responsibility over any sort of leisure time or social interaction.
"There wasn't much of a social aspect because I was waking up to go to work-outs – and then our classes are always two-and-a-half hours long," Kaufman said. "So, I was going to a two-and-a-half-hour class, taking a lunch break, going to another two-and-a-half-hour class and then showing up late to practice, practicing and then staying later since I missed the beginning portion of practice. And then in addition to that, we had twelve-hour shifts [at the hospital] while I played volleyball. So, on days I had a twelve-hour shift, I would miss everything that was that day and would make it all up on Friday, which was the following day. So, I would have our typical obligations on Friday, which was a lift, then a practice, and then I would stay after to make up the practice from Thursday, and then stay after that to make up the conditioning from Thursday. So, it was long, it was hard. I'm very proud of myself for getting through that time."
Both Shaw and Kaufman credited their head coaches, who continually accommodated them through their hectic schedules. For Kaufman specifically, she remembered Coach Travis Filar texting her weekly, figuring out exactly what her schedule was going to be like from week to week, and then maneuvering it as needed, if possible. "Travis [Filar] basically told me, 'We will make it work. And as long as you're willing to put in the effort from the academic and athletic side, everything will take care of itself.'
"[Travis Filar] was by far the most accommodating and supportive coach I could have asked for."
Students like Shaw and Kaufman rarely get the opportunity to concurrently play a division 1 sport and pursue a career in the medical field. Coaches tend to shy away from student-athletes who are pursuing a degree that requires such intense commitment. The amount of time and dedication it takes to enroll in collegiate academics, specifically nursing school -- which lacks any altering to its set in stone schedule -- then adding on a collegiate sport on top of that, is nearly an insurmountable task to not only accept, but succeed in as well, especially for any 18-21-year old who is arguably in the prime of their life.
"I know after we have Sunday games, I'll just be so physically exhausted from a hard weekend," Shaw said. "Then I'll have an exam Monday. So, just having to stay up and study is probably the most challenging part. The most rewarding [part] is probably just getting to do it. I love being a student-athlete and I love being a nursing student so much. I just feel thankful all the time that I get to."
The viewpoint of Shaw is one of "I get to more than I have to" when referring to the unique and rapid lifestyle of being a nursing student-athlete.
"I love doing both of them," Shaw said. "I couldn't imagine my life without soccer, and, obviously, I couldn't imagine my life without being a nursing student right now. Yeah, I think just taking the time, I love both of these things so much I'm not going to give up one just to do the other."
Between being on the pitch, in the weight room and the classroom, Shaw said that type of hurried lifestyle only accelerated her desire to become a nurse, especially when it came to trauma and E.R nursing. "Trauma nursing and E.R., it was so go, go, go, and, like, you just never had a time to just settle down. Me playing sports and just having a really active lifestyle, I knew I wanted to be in a career that was going to keep me on my toes. Other than wanting to help people, I thought it was good for my lifestyle. It was just a way to incorporate the two."
Currently, Shaw is in level 2 of 5 of her nursing studies, studying mental health in pre-op and post-op. But she's also making strides on the field, earning the SoCon Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Year, which isn't surprising considering her athletic family background. Her immediate family includes not only her twin sister who plays soccer alongside her at UTC, but two older sisters that played soccer at Lander University, her mother that played volleyball for the University of South Carolina, and her father that played professional hockey in the NHL. She attributes that most of her characteristics, however, whether academically or athletically, come from her mother, who she said is always striving to achieve the highest level in everything that she does.
"None of my family is nurses at all," Shaw said. "I think my mom, when I was growing up she always said, 'If I could go back, I'd definitely be a nurse.' And I kind of picked up on that and thought maybe that was something I would want to do. When I researched more about it, I was like, 'yeah, for sure, I want to do it.'"
Kaufman's mother, on the other hand, is still a practicing cardiac nurse, currently working in an outpatient office. With her father also dealing with cardiac issues throughout his life, she believes that these things aren't just coincidences. She plans to therefore follow in her mother's footsteps and eventually become a nurse in the same field. "I just feel like it's in my blood at this point with my mom. My grandmother was also a nurse, so it's just kind of been where I've been led to, and then I've also fallen in love with it as I've been in school."
Kaufman, who finished seventh all-time in career digs in UTC volleyball history with 1,400 total, is currently in level 4, but by next semester, her final, she'll be in level 5 working out her preceptorship, where she'll be working with and shadowing a nurse. Her playing days or being on the volleyball court in some capacity, however, are over, for now. In September, she had to make one of the most difficult decisions of her young life when she chose to opt-out of the 2021 spring volleyball season after playing in the one and only game in the fall of 2020.
With the ongoing pandemic, UTC fall sports were, in large part, canceled due to health and safety concerns. "It was a really crazy time," Kaufman recalled. Players on the volleyball team had to deduce whether they were going to only play in the one game against Georgia State at home with no fans allowed in attendance, or continue and play during an unusual spring season when maybe some normalcy could return.
Kaufman chose to opt-out of the spring season, and ultimately, her remaining collegiate athletic career, but not because she didn't love volleyball. It was because she wanted to expedite and focus more on her nursing studies.
"I can't tell you how many conversations I had. And multiple conversations with our head coach, Travis," Kaufman said. "I was on the phone with my parents multiple times a day during that two-week decision process. It was, honestly, probably the hardest decision I've ever had to make because I still love volleyball. I love this program and I wanted to continue to raise this program to the next level. But I also had to take a step back and realize that volleyball is temporary no matter what, and it will come to an end. And at that point, nursing, level 4 […] just took precedence and it was kind of where I came to my decision."
It wasn't as if Kaufman offhandedly called game, set, match to her collegiate athletic career. She and her teammates were still practicing and training throughout the summer into the beginning half of fall, readying themselves for a season that they didn't know whether it would happen or not. But when the one game was announced for the fall, knowing that there would be no other sounds but that of shoes squeaking against the court, grunting players punching the ball and the voices of shouting coaches, Kaufman accepted it as her last game.
"That one game was so special to me," Kaufman said. "We called it senior night. And it definitely allowed for me to get some type of closure to a four-year career – although it wasn't a full four seasons."
While Kaufman was preparing for what would be her last career collegiate volleyball game, Shaw was beginning in the nursing program in the fall of 2020, which she said was a challenging time because of all the new COVID-19 protocols and precautions nurses were having to learn and adhere to then and now. However, due to the pandemic, and all the protocols and precautions that come with it, both future nurses believe there may not be a better time to learn the field.
"It's such a different time to learn […] because nurses are so needed right now," Shaw said. "I think it's an awesome time to become a nurse. When are you going to get the chance to become a nurse during a pandemic? I think it's an awesome opportunity."
Kaufman added: "It's definitely been a learning curve for all of us students. But it's also been really amazing just to be a part of the growth that's happening."
The pandemic made Shaw eager to want to join the field, as it did for Kaufman as well, even if she has admittedly had her reservations about continuing since the spread of COVID-19.
"I would be lying if I said that it didn't make me nervous," Kaufman said. "This has been a really tough year for anyone who's worked in health care. But it also makes me really proud of the fact that this is the field I'm going into – and I wouldn't change it for anything. I know this is what I'm called to do and where I'm called to be. But there's definitely been some hurdles that everyone is learning how to get over every single day.
"This is forcing nurses to be different. The job of the nurse has just become even more important than it was. And I think people around are starting to value it more than it was, which is important because nursing is what makes the hospital go around whether people acknowledge it or not."
Their eagerness is evident, however, by how they are already helping make a difference, by volunteering to help administer the vaccine to people while still just student's of the field.
"It definitely feels like you're a part of history," Kaufman said. "You're making some sort of history textbook where one day people are going to look back and realize this was a vital time where this vaccine was introduced and you're protecting your classmates, your peers, you know, people's kids -- which is also going back to their families and protecting their parents and grandparents and everyone around them. It definitely feels a little bit surreal just to be a part of this amazing time."
Shaw was volunteering during Christmas break, which is usually a time where most students look for a rest from the burdensome toils from the freshly finished fall semester. "I wanted to be a part of helping bring it down," she said, referring to the persisting virus.
By the time Shaw and Kaufman have graduated and are wearing their scrubs and stethoscopes, working in their particular fields, they will have already helped care for so many.
SERIES ARCHIVES – SEASON 2
Vol. 8 - Nursing Student-Athletes Succeeding One Day at a Time
Vol. 7 - Torrez "The Punisher" Finney's Journey From The Mats To The Cage
Vol. 6 - The Day Softball Was Called Home, One Year Later
Vol. 5 - Regina Kirk Impacting Lives Through a Triumphant Journey
SERIES ARCHIVES – SEASON 1
Vol. 4 - Holiday Spirit Shines Bright
Vol. 3 - Strength Through Adversity, the NaKeia Burks Story - *#1 in Nation (CoSIDA - 2020)
Vol. 2 - Together is Better, Siblings Find New Home in Chattanooga
Vol. 1 - Mission First, Family Always
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Chatt Chats (Vol. 8): Nursing Student-Athletes Succeeding One Day at a Time - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics - GoMocs.com
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