‘My friends and coaches pick me up’
Petru Cojocaru ’28 rises bright and early at 5:30 a.m. to head to tennis practice. He has to wrap up by 8:30 to make class. Rinse and repeat.
This delicate balance of morning practices, days and evenings filled with class and studying, plus time for clubs and relaxation, is the life of a student athlete. ClarkU News asked a handful of Clarkies to share how athletics have helped strengthen their life skills, such as time management and accountability, and built a community of support and empowerment.
Petru Cojocaru ’28
Major: Chemistry
Sport: Tennis
Position: Sixth singles
Throughout his time on the tennis team, Cojocaru has seen Clark athletes step up to support one another. “You’re already in a community when you join,” he says, “you engage with other teams, they come out to support you, and you go out to support them.”
Cojocaru says his favorite part of being on the team is “the energy that you get from teammates, the intensity of the game, and just having fun.”
To balance being a student athlete, time management is the key. “If I have to study for a test, I try to do it earlier rather than later,” he says. “That’s one of the biggest parts.”
Tessa Pham ’29
Major: Chemistry
Sport: Soccer
Position: Midfielder
Pham has been playing soccer since she was a toddler and continuing the sport in college was important for her. “I’m glad I was able to do that here at Clark,” she says. “I feel like I can’t live without soccer.” Her longest days are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with labs. Her daily practice consumes about three hours.
In the fall semester, athletes arrive on campus early to start practicing, something Pham found beneficial as a first-year student.“It’s really nice because you’re coming in with a group of people you have a community base with through your sport.” It helped her connect not just with her peers, but with other members of the community, too, like graduate students. “It’s very helpful if you have questions. They gave me a support system before even starting classes.”
Isabella Alcott ’28
Major: Physics
Sport: Volleyball
Position: Outside hitter
Alcott has established a routine to manage her coursework, sticking to morning or early-afternoon classes because the volleyball team often practices later in the evening. The team places a lot of value in time management. “If there is a big game coming up, we make sure that we get all of our schoolwork done.”
For Alcott, the end of her first-year season was the most memorable, as the team hosted a NEWMAC (New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference) quarterfinal games. “That was a really big moment for us,” she says. “I had never seen the stands so packed for one of our games. It was amazing.”
Aedan Derrick ’26
Major: Environmental science
Sport: Basketball
Position: Forward
Derrick has come to learn that everywhere is a classroom, both the lecture hall and the basketball court. “In both places you learn what’s relevant to your ethics and the things that are going to stand the test of time,” he says.
For Derrick, being on a team with students similar to him has been a stress relief. “You mature with those kinds of people around you, because you learn how to better take care of yourself,” he says.
As an athlete, Derrick learned how to maintain a high self-standard. “The thing that you retain is an identity and ownership of that standard,” he says, “which improves your decision-making when it comes to temptations or distractions.”
Abigail Venis ’28
Major: Psychology and women’s and gender studies
Sports: Softball and volleyball
Position: Third base; middle blocker
Venis’ key to maintaining a balance between academics, sports, and extracurriculars is good time management. She carves out time to study, and does homework with friends, “a good way to socialize and get what your work done,” she says. Venis created her class schedule strategically, “so that I have fewer than two classes every day, managing time better, especially with practices in the middle of the day.”
When things get overwhelming, she has a community to fall back on. “My friends and coaches pick me up,” she says.
Emma Macintire ’26
Major: Psychology with a concentration in the health sciences
Sport: Field hockey
Position: Defender
When things start to get overwhelming, Macintire thinks of her teammates for motivation. “You realize you’re all in the same position — everybody has to wake up at the same time, get their work done, and you want to be as committed as your teammates,” she says. “That builds trust within our team.” Between practices and classes, Macintire participates in Clark clubs and works in the admissions office. She feels strongly about filling in “gaps” throughout the day to meet new people.
Jenna Beauchain ’26
Major: Math and data science
Sport: Field hockey
Position: Defender
Beauchain has loved being involved in sports since she was 2 years old, so in college, “I just wanted to continue playing and do what I love.”
Her first year, “I was so scared, and all the upperclassmen and my fellow teammates were so welcoming and kind.” And the love of hockey outweighed all her stresses.
“People have come and gone, but I met Emma Macintire from the team my first day and we are now best friends and have lived together for the past two years. You’re going to meet your lifelong friends if you play on a team.”
As a double major with daily practice, Beauchain is always on the run — 8 a.m. lifts in the weight room; two or three classes per day; and 6-8 p.m. practices. “Going to office hours, utilizing [access to] the professors, and spacing my time out was the best thing I could do,” she says.
Danny Goodman ’28
Major: Studio art
Sport: Baseball
Position: Pitcher
Being a student athlete helped Goodman develop the comfortability to come out of his shell. As an introverted person, connecting with his teammates before starting school was big for him. “It builds a really strong community with a lot of guys who want to make you better, a community that I look forward to all the time,” he says. Organizing his schoolwork around practices helps him balance life — for Goodman the title of “student” always comes before “athlete.”
Jack Insalaco ’27
Major: Finance
Sport: Lacrosse
Position: Long-stick midfielder/defender
Insalaco’s way of managing being a student-athlete is by making lists to plan things out, something that helped him stay organized when he missed a week of classes and practice because of the flu.
For Insalaco, academics are a priority, but classes have helped him improve as a lacrosse player as well. A favorite class is Marketing to You with Professor Lawrence Norman, in which he gave numerous presentations to a large audience. “Being able to present to a big group of people makes me a better leader on the field now that I am an upperclassman and have to step up,” he says.
Insalaco believes being an athlete will be a lifelong asset. “The skills and the hard work you put into it are what you’re going to have to do when you’re in the workplace,” he says. “I may not like losing a game, but having to recover and do better the next day, I think, is going to help me in my professional life.”
