Humboldt Collegiate Institute graduate Lindsey Larson is being recognized for both her athletic and academic achievements at University of Texas El Paso (UTEP), where she is in her third year.
The civil engineering student was named to the 2014 Conference USA All-Academic volleyball team. Athletes on the team have to earn a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and have a significant position on their school’s team. Larson has a 3.87 GPA in her program and is a starting setter on the volleyball team.
“I was really excited,” she said. “I definitely wasn’t expecting it at all. It was a nice surprise. I was pretty excited.”
Sports have always been important to Larson. In high school, she couldn’t decide between focusing on volleyball or basketball. Her parents told her that if she wanted to go to school and play sports, she’d have to pick one. She decided that whichever sport she got recruited for first, that would be the sport she’d focus on. UTEP was that school. She said she has moments where she misses basketball, but knows the reverse would be true if she was playing basketball instead of volleyball.
“If I played basketball, I’d miss volleyball the same way,” she said.
She travels a lot to play volleyball, and in the past few years has gone to Hawaii, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and more. The downside to this is that she misses a significant chunk of school. She keeps up with the work by asking for friends’ notes, talking to professors, and doing homework when she can – she says airports are a good place to get caught up on homework.
“We’re thrilled that she’s able to have a 3.87 in civil engineering with missing that much,” her mom, Jenny Larson, said.
While she’s doing well at school, there are some parts of Humboldt she misses; the cold isn’t one of them.
“I miss trees and grass; it’s all desert here,” she said. “I miss my family and all my friends. I miss Canada because it’s home to me and I lived there my whole life … I miss the snow, I miss having a white Christmas. I’ve been lucky to be able to come back at Christmas.”
Her parents had reservations about her leaving, especially as she was 17 at the time. It made it easier knowing that she immediately had a support system in the volleyball team.
“We miss her a lot, but at the same time, we felt that it was an opportunity that she couldn’t refuse to at least try out,” her mother said. “If that’s what she really wanted, when she achieved that, we thought, ‘You gotta try.’”
Larson isn’t fully sure what she wants to do after university, but she would like to return home or go elsewhere in Canada. But one thing is for sure: she would love to continue with volleyball after she’s done school.
“I’ve always loved sports … It’s like a lifestyle for me. I couldn’t imagine not playing something. I just like it because it takes a lot of dedication and I like getting better and seeing the result of all your hard work,” she said. “When you get into the season, you put it all together and you can win games with your team. It’s really exciting. It’s a stress reliever. I can’t imagine my life without it.”
