Teaching Gives Striegel New Perspective

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The student-athlete journey for Murray State softball's Jensen Striegel looks a bit different from the traditional path that many collegiate athletes experience. While most student-athletes balance their time on and off the field between things like going to practice and writing papers, Striegel spends time grading papers and creating lesson plans.

After completing her undergraduate psychology degree in May of 2020 at Murray State after just three years, Striegel now has the unique opportunity to be both a student and a teacher. Pursuing a graduate degree in the School Psychology program, she is also getting the chance to be on the instructing end of the educational process.

"I am currently teaching a class on developmental psychology. Most of my students are in high school but are taking college credit hours. My perspective has changed a lot since I am on the other end of things now. I have always had a lot of respect for my professors but, now that I truly understand how much they do behind the scenes, I have a newfound appreciation for them. It can be a lot of work from grading papers, creating assignments, coming up with lesson plans, etc. On the other hand, being able to watch people succeed and learn more about human development is rewarding," said Striegel.
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The Floyds Knobs, Indiana native, who wishes to pursue a career as a school psychologist after completing her education, sees an interesting connection between her experiences both as an athlete and as a psychology student.

"I absolutely see a relationship between psychology and sports. I was never able to take our psychology of sports course here at Murray State, but I wish I would have because I think that would have been so interesting. I think having a psychology background has given me the ability to learn more about humans in general, and I have been able to translate some of the things I have learned over to the field and my friendships. Each individual has a different personality, is motivated differently, etc. Knowing some of this information has helped me guide them (teammates) through certain situations, motivate them during practice or games, or just be someone that will listen to them," she added.

Now preparing for her fourth season in a Racer uniform, she can use some of that knowledge to help lead newcomers that have had an unconventional start to their collegiate careers thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As a returner that has been through a few seasons, I would say that knowing what is expected of us has given me the ability to be a leader to the freshman and newcomers. I have been able to guide and help them through most of what we are doing at practice, in the classroom, weight room, or whatever it may be because I have been in their shoes before. My words of encouragement have been to make every second count because you never know when it could be your last game or practice," she says.

The speedy outfielder, who is tied for eighth in Racer softball history on the all-time stolen base list with 28 and counting, is also on the cusp of recording her 100^th career hit as she currently has 98 – good for 15^th on the MSU all-time list. Striegel and her teammates are rejuvenated and ready to build on the promising foundation that saw the Racers go 12-10 in 2020 before the campaign was cut short due to the pandemic.

"Our preparation has changed in the fact that we are not able to be together as a full team as much as we have in the past. For example, we go in smaller groups to the weight room, so we are able to socially distance ourselves and keep each other safe and healthy. However, we have all stayed motivated in the fact that we know what it's like to get our season taken away. It has given us a new outlook on not taking any second for granted at practice, conditioning, or as a team in general."

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