Bison Scholar-Athlete Spotlight: Kelsie Meintel
Bethany, W. Va. – The Bison Scholar-Athlete Spotlight highlights Bethany College Scholar-Athletes that exemplify outstanding leadership as an athlete, student, or in other college and community activities. These Scholar-Athletes have distinguished themselves above and beyond both in the classroom and on the playing field.
Get to know this week's Bison Scholar-Athlete Spotlight juniorKelsie Meintel.
Sport(s): Women's Basketball / Track and Field
Position / Event: Forward / Throws
Hometown: Moundsville, W. Va.
High School: Cameron
Major: Psychology
Minor: Criminal Justice
Activities outside of Athletics?
Member of the Psychology club, helper with Special Olympics, Presidential scholar
What is your dream job?
I would love to be either a sports psychologist or a forensic psychologist.
Tips for being successful?
In athletics, always give your best effort. My favorite quote to tell people is "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." Putting in all of your effort benefits not only you as a player but also your teammates. Holding yourself accountable to not only reach your goals, but surpass them sets you up for success. As for academics, turning in assignments on time, completing projects to your best ability allows for a smoother college experience all together. Time management is another area I think is very important. Planning ahead has helped me tremendously throughout my time at Bethany. Plan out all of your upcoming assignments for the week and hold yourself accountable for finishing them on time.
What does it mean to be a Scholar-Athlete?
Being a scholar-athlete is very important to me because not only has it taught me that I can balance two things at once, but it also taught me important life lessons that I will use in my future. It has taught me leadership skills, teamwork, respect, and dealing with adversity. All of these qualities I can use to benefit me in my future career.
Why Bethany?
I chose Bethany because of the close relationships between academics and athletics. The faculty and staff on this campus truly care about the well-being of the students. Coming from a small high school, I wanted to attend a college that had a small class size over all. At Bethany, I am able to ask my professor questions in-class and receive direct attention in certain areas of my studies in a quick and efficient manner. It also helps that my biggest class I have been a part of was 20 students. The athletic department cares about the quality of education their athletes are getting as well. They care about your degree as much as they care about you as a person as well.
What is your biggest accomplishment?
My biggest accomplishment is maintaining a 4.0 GPA every semester from Freshman to my current year (Junior). Balancing athletics and academics can be very difficult and with the addition of switching to online classes especially.
With COVID-19 restrictions, how have you adapted as an athlete and as a student?
As a student, online classes have been a struggle from time-to-time but the professors have done everything they can to help make the transition smoother. Anytime there is an issue with laptops not working or the internet going out, they always come up with alternatives to make sure you can complete the assignment or get the information in that class. As an athlete, the Covid restrictions have definitely pushed any sense of normalcy out of the picture. However, our coaches and the whole athletic department have been doing everything and anything to ensure our health and safety as well as letting us compete/train to the best of our ability. Everything is just a giant learning curve, facing adversity only makes you stronger.
A Fun Fact about yourself:
I can say my ABC's backwards very fast.
