In the college experience there are so many choices and paths for students to potentially take. Coming together to choose between hundreds of academic disciplines, extracurricular activities and athletic programs to partake in, how could these students possibly juggle everything and still make the time for maintaining meaningful, romantic relationships?
Perhaps the most challenging of all student-athlete balances is the weight of attending daily workouts, routine practices, traveling for big games and taking several classes at once.
ETSU track and field star sophomore Noah Shelton (Gray, Tennessee) won’t tell you it’s easy, but he definitely possesses drive and a formula for balancing his responsibilities without sacrificing quality time for his long-term relationship.
“I’ve been dating the same girl since my senior year in high school,” said Shelton. “I don’t know college life without dating.”
In addition to his countless dedication to his team, Noah is also taking 16 credit hours this semester. He estimates that he spends over 40 hours per semester participating in community service activities as part of his academic scholarship.
Despite his hefty responsibilities, Noah manages to find gaps in the week to make time for his girlfriend who is also a college student.
“My class schedule comes first,” said Shelton. “It’s not gonna change. It’s the same every week. My practice schedule is pretty rigid [though], because practice times can sometimes flip.”
Noah notes that if he can find weekly recurring holes in scheduling large enough for him and his girlfriend to meet they will act on it.
“I try to make my schedule to where I know where the holes are,” said Noah. “If the hole is big enough, and it lines up with her schedule, that’s the time we will come together. For me, that’s how we make it work.”
Shelton also made known that he attempts to take full advantage of his weekends to spend time together, provided that the track and field team doesn’t have to travel out of state for that period of time.
“On the weekends, if i’m not out of town, a lot of the time that’s when we hang out a lot,” said Shelton.
Noah shares an admirable story of commitment, both to his girlfriend, and also to his grind as a student-athlete at ETSU.
