WEST LAFAYATTE - With the season well underway, it is time to get to know your 2018 student-athletes. Today, we learn all about freshman Emma Terwilliger.
A native of Valparasio, Indiana, Terwilliger attended Purdue volleyball camps since she was 13 years old. Now officially on the 2018 Boilermaker roster, she is one of six defensive specialist for Purdue.
#MiracleSpecialist
ET: I started playing volleyball in the sixth grade, wasn't too into it at first. I didn't really know what I was doing. Most of the girls played travel long before I did. I started with basketball, softball, all types of sports, trying them all out. But in the sixth grade, the Valpo high school coach told me that if I really wanted to play volleyball, I needed to start doing club, so then I started doing it competitively in the sixth grade.
What do you love about Volleyball?
ET: I just love the game. I have a lot of fun with it. I like team-based sports, I don't really like anything individual. I really like being part of a team and the culture it brings. I'm super competitive and I think volleyball is a really quick game, so it kind of aids to my competitiveness. It is just a lot of fun for me.
What's your connection to Purdue? Why did you pick to come here?
ET: I started going to camp here, actually when I started playing in sixth grade, I was the little girl in the stands that fell in love with the game and all the players here, so that was a really big factor. As I started knowing the coaches better, and knowing the program better, the environment was just perfect. It's super close to home and the big thing for me was academics. I have to go somewhere where I had the balance between the sports and the academics and obviously Purdue is one of the top-ranked schools, so I couldn't do without it. It was a good choice. I'm happy.
You're one of the few players that knew head coach Dave Shondell at a young age. Did you see him as a certain way when you were younger, and if so, has any of that changed now that you are on his team?
ET: When I was younger, I just saw him on the sidelines coaching. I didn't know his personality or anything. I just thought he was super intense, which I found more about as I came here. But he's more of a family figure to me now. He makes us super comfortable and makes a really good environment for all of us to play in. He's just an amazing coach, and he really tries to make us a family, which is really important to me.
Not only do you excel on the court, but you excel in the classroom. Would you say you're passionate about your studies and have you always been that way?
ET: Ever since I got into high school, I took academics very seriously. I was more kind of competitive with my brother at the beginning because he's the brains of the family, but as I got into high school I knew it would be really important to go on my resume and stuff for college. I started trying really hard and it became really interesting to me. I found a lot of stuff that I really liked. I've always been into science and math. As I got into more research studies in high school, I started kind of figuring out what I liked and that's where the whole medical field thing came in. It's always been super important and really focused in my family too. My parents always made sure that we were kept on track and kept us in school and stuff like that.
Is your brother younger or older?
ET: He's older. He actually goes Purdue too. He's majoring in engineering.
So does that competitiveness still live on today here at Purdue?
ET: A little bit. We both get very good grades here and we both try really hard. However, we are kind of going our separate ways as he's engineering, and I am in the medical field, so it's not as the same as it used to be. But I still try to do better than him.
So you came to Purdue with over 40 credits, take me through your academic plan when you were in high school? What does that mean and how did you get all of that here?
ET: I actually started taking my first dual-credit course though PNC in seventh grade, we took a Spanish class that we could get high school credit for and everything, so I started doing that. My whole plan was if I got all these credits, I'd already have a head start and by the end of my senior year, I could do more research and more hands-on research. I want to make sure that I had enough time that I could explore a lot of studies before I got to the medical field, so I really knew what I liked.
Where would you say your academic success comes from? Is it just a passion to do well or is it from your parents?
ET: I think it starts with the parenting, my parents are both very well educated. They really pushed my brother and I ever since we were little, trying to find different thing that we were into. I actually went to a private school before I went to public school and it was very vigorous in academics, so that is where I started my study habits. When I made that transition to public school, I kind of already knew what I had to do in order to get good grades. With science and math though, it's really kind of a passion. I find them really interesting, so it's not that hard to study when you're interested in it, it's not like a chore.
What are your favorite subjects and why?
ET: My favorite subjects are science and math, and more specifically would be biology. I'm really interested in the way things developed. Evolution, I think is really interesting to study with all the different ecosystems and how they all came together. Biology is definitely my favorite. It's kind of easier for me to understand with the different parts. I like anatomy obviously with the med field. I find the body super interesting.
How would you describe yourself as a learner?
ET: I think I am more hands on if I do a lab or a project. I retain a lot more of the information instead of when I am just hearing it. I am not very good at memorizing information the first time I hear it. I have to really study hard for everything, so I would say I am more hands on and visual.
So you kind of already touched on this, but utilizing Math and Science, what are you career goals?
ET: My career goals are obviously to go to a really good medical school. The focus I have right now is being a surgeon, I'm really interested in orthopedics and plastics. Probably because I've seen more of those two than anything else. However, I want to make sure when I get to medical school, I explore everything and find what I'm most interested in. I am also interested in cancer because both of my grandparents were both diagnosed. I didn't really know a lot about it at the time because I was a lot younger, but I knew how it affected me and my family. I think it's very interesting so that's may be another career path I consider.
Outside of the personal occurrence with your grandparents having cancer, was there any one specific thing that has inspired you go to the medical route?
ET: One of the biggest things was when my mom worked in the medical field when I was younger. She worked in the ICU, so she always came home with all these amazing stories, like these medical miracles that happened at her work. And I'm kind of an adrenaline junkie, so those stories were really cool to me. I was like five and six, so I didn't really know what they were. I just thought it was really cool, and I kind of wanted to be a part of a miracle in the medical field too one day, so I think that's how it all started.
Is there any story that you really remember?
ET: Well one of the main stories was actually with my parents growing up. They lived in apartment together first and there was a car accident right outside their home. Someone had hit the tree in front of their apartment and my mom was actually able to help them before the ambulance arrived. She was fortunately able to help one girl and it saved her life, so my mom is my little savior.
So this dream would be daunting for a lot, is there anything any aspect that kind of worries you going forward?
ET: One of the biggest things is that the medical field is very open-ended. There are not a lot of answers for certain occurrences and I think that's something I'd get very upset about it if I can't figure out the answer to something. But as I keep doing research and keep studying, I can come closer to these answers. I'm kind of impatient, so I feel that my biggest problem in medical school will be waiting for the answer and trying to figure something out.
What do you think are the most important characteristics of a doctor?
ET: The most important characteristics are definitely being sociable, being able to think on the spot and communicating with your patients. I would also say just being interested in it is another important aspect. I think something else that all doctors need is just to love what they do. I think it would be hard to do something that you didn't like every single day. Not putting a lot of heart into being a doctor would be bad because people come to you for help and that's what you are supposed to do.
Who would you say is your biggest supporter for all your dreams?
ET: My biggest supporters are definitely my parents. I would say mom especially since we both have interests in the medical field. She's really helped me develop my studies and where I want to go in my future.
How do balance all your studies, your future and volleyball?
ET: So I'm usually very stressed out, being able to handle it is has not been very easy. I've always been good at time management but it can be very hard balance at times. I make time for responsibilities but I make sure I have time for myself too, so I don't get too stressed out. I try to do something fun every day.
What's something fun you do every day?
ET: I have a lot of very good friends here, especially from my high school. Whether we are watching Netflix, just going for a walk or going to dinner, we always make sure we get out of this suite every once in a while to make sure we get our heads on right.
You've talked about how you want to grow in the health industry, but how do you want to grow personally as well?
ET: Personally, I just want to figure out how I could help in several ways. I think a lot about the medical field and there are a lot of open-ended questions. I want to be able to end one of those. I know I want to create a thesis when I get into medical school. I want to do a lot of research on that. I just personally want to be a great leader.
Is there anything you take from volleyball and use toward your studies? Or vice-versa?
ET: I think a big thing is leadership. Especially in high school, I always had to be a leader on my club team or a leader when I was coaching younger kids. I think that's going to be really important when I'm in the medical field. Especially, if I want to be a surgeon. I'd have to lead a lot of my practices and be able to think on the spot. I think another thing that has developed is just being a big supporter. I'm a big supporter of any of my teammates on the court as you see. I think it builds a lot of chemistry and when I got into the medical field, that's going to help me support the patients and families that I work with.
What would you tell someone that thinks they have to choose between their academic future and their love of sports?
ET: I would tell them that there's always a way to balance sports and what you want to do. Don't be too stressed out about it. It's really hard at first, especially when I came to college. I was staying up until two in the morning trying to finish my studies, but as time went on, I found ways to handle it. So, there's always a way to do things, so don't stress too much about it.
What advice would you give someone that wants to be in your shoes one day?
ET: I would tell them to never give up. I think you can do a lot more than you think you can. You know I never saw myself at Purdue as a volleyball player, I was always the little one looking up to these players. So just really follow your dreams and do whatever you think you can do and you'll get there one day.
A native of Valparasio, Indiana, Terwilliger attended Purdue volleyball camps since she was 13 years old. Now officially on the 2018 Boilermaker roster, she is one of six defensive specialist for Purdue.
#MiracleSpecialist
At what age did you start playing volleyball?She's a specialist on the court, in the classroom and soon to be one in the operating room.
— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB) October 24, 2018
Find out how freshman @Terwilliger333 learned to do it all as she talks science, med school and family.
For more ?? https://t.co/4QBAiFopax#DefensiveSpecialist??#MiracleSpecialist pic.twitter.com/qPtqRoqbh6
ET: I started playing volleyball in the sixth grade, wasn't too into it at first. I didn't really know what I was doing. Most of the girls played travel long before I did. I started with basketball, softball, all types of sports, trying them all out. But in the sixth grade, the Valpo high school coach told me that if I really wanted to play volleyball, I needed to start doing club, so then I started doing it competitively in the sixth grade.
What do you love about Volleyball?
ET: I just love the game. I have a lot of fun with it. I like team-based sports, I don't really like anything individual. I really like being part of a team and the culture it brings. I'm super competitive and I think volleyball is a really quick game, so it kind of aids to my competitiveness. It is just a lot of fun for me.
What's your connection to Purdue? Why did you pick to come here?
ET: I started going to camp here, actually when I started playing in sixth grade, I was the little girl in the stands that fell in love with the game and all the players here, so that was a really big factor. As I started knowing the coaches better, and knowing the program better, the environment was just perfect. It's super close to home and the big thing for me was academics. I have to go somewhere where I had the balance between the sports and the academics and obviously Purdue is one of the top-ranked schools, so I couldn't do without it. It was a good choice. I'm happy.
You're one of the few players that knew head coach Dave Shondell at a young age. Did you see him as a certain way when you were younger, and if so, has any of that changed now that you are on his team?
ET: When I was younger, I just saw him on the sidelines coaching. I didn't know his personality or anything. I just thought he was super intense, which I found more about as I came here. But he's more of a family figure to me now. He makes us super comfortable and makes a really good environment for all of us to play in. He's just an amazing coach, and he really tries to make us a family, which is really important to me.
Not only do you excel on the court, but you excel in the classroom. Would you say you're passionate about your studies and have you always been that way?
ET: Ever since I got into high school, I took academics very seriously. I was more kind of competitive with my brother at the beginning because he's the brains of the family, but as I got into high school I knew it would be really important to go on my resume and stuff for college. I started trying really hard and it became really interesting to me. I found a lot of stuff that I really liked. I've always been into science and math. As I got into more research studies in high school, I started kind of figuring out what I liked and that's where the whole medical field thing came in. It's always been super important and really focused in my family too. My parents always made sure that we were kept on track and kept us in school and stuff like that.
Is your brother younger or older?
ET: He's older. He actually goes Purdue too. He's majoring in engineering.
So does that competitiveness still live on today here at Purdue?
ET: A little bit. We both get very good grades here and we both try really hard. However, we are kind of going our separate ways as he's engineering, and I am in the medical field, so it's not as the same as it used to be. But I still try to do better than him.
So you came to Purdue with over 40 credits, take me through your academic plan when you were in high school? What does that mean and how did you get all of that here?
ET: I actually started taking my first dual-credit course though PNC in seventh grade, we took a Spanish class that we could get high school credit for and everything, so I started doing that. My whole plan was if I got all these credits, I'd already have a head start and by the end of my senior year, I could do more research and more hands-on research. I want to make sure that I had enough time that I could explore a lot of studies before I got to the medical field, so I really knew what I liked.
Where would you say your academic success comes from? Is it just a passion to do well or is it from your parents?
ET: I think it starts with the parenting, my parents are both very well educated. They really pushed my brother and I ever since we were little, trying to find different thing that we were into. I actually went to a private school before I went to public school and it was very vigorous in academics, so that is where I started my study habits. When I made that transition to public school, I kind of already knew what I had to do in order to get good grades. With science and math though, it's really kind of a passion. I find them really interesting, so it's not that hard to study when you're interested in it, it's not like a chore.
What are your favorite subjects and why?
ET: My favorite subjects are science and math, and more specifically would be biology. I'm really interested in the way things developed. Evolution, I think is really interesting to study with all the different ecosystems and how they all came together. Biology is definitely my favorite. It's kind of easier for me to understand with the different parts. I like anatomy obviously with the med field. I find the body super interesting.
How would you describe yourself as a learner?
ET: I think I am more hands on if I do a lab or a project. I retain a lot more of the information instead of when I am just hearing it. I am not very good at memorizing information the first time I hear it. I have to really study hard for everything, so I would say I am more hands on and visual.
So you kind of already touched on this, but utilizing Math and Science, what are you career goals?
ET: My career goals are obviously to go to a really good medical school. The focus I have right now is being a surgeon, I'm really interested in orthopedics and plastics. Probably because I've seen more of those two than anything else. However, I want to make sure when I get to medical school, I explore everything and find what I'm most interested in. I am also interested in cancer because both of my grandparents were both diagnosed. I didn't really know a lot about it at the time because I was a lot younger, but I knew how it affected me and my family. I think it's very interesting so that's may be another career path I consider.
Outside of the personal occurrence with your grandparents having cancer, was there any one specific thing that has inspired you go to the medical route?
ET: One of the biggest things was when my mom worked in the medical field when I was younger. She worked in the ICU, so she always came home with all these amazing stories, like these medical miracles that happened at her work. And I'm kind of an adrenaline junkie, so those stories were really cool to me. I was like five and six, so I didn't really know what they were. I just thought it was really cool, and I kind of wanted to be a part of a miracle in the medical field too one day, so I think that's how it all started.
Is there any story that you really remember?
ET: Well one of the main stories was actually with my parents growing up. They lived in apartment together first and there was a car accident right outside their home. Someone had hit the tree in front of their apartment and my mom was actually able to help them before the ambulance arrived. She was fortunately able to help one girl and it saved her life, so my mom is my little savior.
So this dream would be daunting for a lot, is there anything any aspect that kind of worries you going forward?
ET: One of the biggest things is that the medical field is very open-ended. There are not a lot of answers for certain occurrences and I think that's something I'd get very upset about it if I can't figure out the answer to something. But as I keep doing research and keep studying, I can come closer to these answers. I'm kind of impatient, so I feel that my biggest problem in medical school will be waiting for the answer and trying to figure something out.
What do you think are the most important characteristics of a doctor?
ET: The most important characteristics are definitely being sociable, being able to think on the spot and communicating with your patients. I would also say just being interested in it is another important aspect. I think something else that all doctors need is just to love what they do. I think it would be hard to do something that you didn't like every single day. Not putting a lot of heart into being a doctor would be bad because people come to you for help and that's what you are supposed to do.
Who would you say is your biggest supporter for all your dreams?
ET: My biggest supporters are definitely my parents. I would say mom especially since we both have interests in the medical field. She's really helped me develop my studies and where I want to go in my future.
How do balance all your studies, your future and volleyball?
ET: So I'm usually very stressed out, being able to handle it is has not been very easy. I've always been good at time management but it can be very hard balance at times. I make time for responsibilities but I make sure I have time for myself too, so I don't get too stressed out. I try to do something fun every day.
What's something fun you do every day?
ET: I have a lot of very good friends here, especially from my high school. Whether we are watching Netflix, just going for a walk or going to dinner, we always make sure we get out of this suite every once in a while to make sure we get our heads on right.
You've talked about how you want to grow in the health industry, but how do you want to grow personally as well?
ET: Personally, I just want to figure out how I could help in several ways. I think a lot about the medical field and there are a lot of open-ended questions. I want to be able to end one of those. I know I want to create a thesis when I get into medical school. I want to do a lot of research on that. I just personally want to be a great leader.
Is there anything you take from volleyball and use toward your studies? Or vice-versa?
ET: I think a big thing is leadership. Especially in high school, I always had to be a leader on my club team or a leader when I was coaching younger kids. I think that's going to be really important when I'm in the medical field. Especially, if I want to be a surgeon. I'd have to lead a lot of my practices and be able to think on the spot. I think another thing that has developed is just being a big supporter. I'm a big supporter of any of my teammates on the court as you see. I think it builds a lot of chemistry and when I got into the medical field, that's going to help me support the patients and families that I work with.
What would you tell someone that thinks they have to choose between their academic future and their love of sports?
ET: I would tell them that there's always a way to balance sports and what you want to do. Don't be too stressed out about it. It's really hard at first, especially when I came to college. I was staying up until two in the morning trying to finish my studies, but as time went on, I found ways to handle it. So, there's always a way to do things, so don't stress too much about it.
What advice would you give someone that wants to be in your shoes one day?
ET: I would tell them to never give up. I think you can do a lot more than you think you can. You know I never saw myself at Purdue as a volleyball player, I was always the little one looking up to these players. So just really follow your dreams and do whatever you think you can do and you'll get there one day.