After a year without sports on Tufts’ campus due to the pandemic, sports are back, and the Jumbos are joined with a new class of first-year athletes.
The transition that these athletes — such as first-years Alina Qi and Gillian Sherrill on the volleyball team — experience in their first semester plays a big role in their careers both as athletes and as students.
Both Qi, a middle hitter/opposite hitter from San Francisco, Calif., and Sherrill, a middle hitter/opposite hitter from Missoula, Mont., have been interested in volleyball since they were young.
“I didn’t know the sport at all,” Qi said. “[I thought], ‘Maybe I’ll try it just for fun.’ I took a chance and tried it out. Somehow, I made the team. I kept playing and fell in love with the sport.”
Sherill got into volleyball because of her height.
“I grew up being the tallest,” Sherrill said. “I started out with the club that I stuck with for 6–7 years since middle school.”
Since their early elementary school and middle school days, both Qi and Sherrill knew that they wanted to play at the collegiate level.
“I think it’s hard to give up that competitive element of your life because you’re just conditioned to be competitive,” Sherrill said. “I realized in high school that I definitely wanted to continue athletics through the track and volleyball team.”
But the collegiate level, of course, is different, and both needed to adapt to new styles of play.
When Qi arrived on campus and began training, she realized some of these differences.
“The game is so fast, very competitive,” Qi said. “But it’s so much fun because everyone who is playing is so [passionate], you can see how much people love the sport.”
Similarly, Sherrill realized how fast the games were at college.
“It wasn’t something that I was ready for,” she said. “Being there physically and keeping up for the first few weeks was very challenging. But a very fun challenge — I like being pushed like that. I think it has already improved my playing so much.”
Off the court, both Qi and Sherrill are enjoying other aspects of student-athlete life at Tufts. They expressed great interest not only in volleyball but also in their studies. Qi plans to study biopsychology and entrepreneurship, and wants to complete the pre-med, pre-physician assistant or pre-physical therapy requirements. Sherrill plans to study international relations to pursue her goal of living abroad.
“The beauty of college is that I get to explore and consider my options,” Sherrill said.
But the numerous opportunities in athletics, academics and social life often can overwhelm student-athletes, especially in their first semester. For example, Qi said she decided to enroll in 18 SHUs, a full course load, as well as try other extracurricular activities beyond volleyball.
“It was not planned,” Qi said. “I was talking to people and they told me to drop some classes because you have a lot on your plate. I want to but I also don’t want to … I know I can do it.”
To manage all of their obligations, they both have come to realize the importance of time management to handle their busy schedules, whether that means sacrificing an hour of socializing to finish an assignment, waking up a little bit early to attend a club meeting or making time to converse with her classmates — to handle their busy schedules.
“If I utilize time wisely, I can make things happen,” Qi said. “There are times that I struggle with it, but I’m thinking in the long term. But also, I am so appreciative of my team because they made the transition so much easier and comforting, knowing that I can rely on them.”
Sherrill agreed, adding that the support of her older teammates has helped her through the transition.
“Having the support system of the team has been incredibly helpful in terms of dealing with everything that life has been throwing at me,” Sherrill said. “They’ve given some guidance with how to manage your time — it’s good to have upperclassmen to guide you.”
