Student-Athletes: Use Your Superpower!

When the whistle blows and the videoboard shows the final score of your collegiate athletic career, you might wonder: What’s next? Who am I without my sport?

In speaking with student-athletes about their transition out of college and into the workforce, I hear a common theme: feeling not good enough.

Here’s what I want you to know: while you may not have studied abroad, completed a summer internship or joined multiple campus organizations because you were training or in season — being a student-athlete is YOUR superpower. Don’t sell yourself short.

You already hold the qualities that set you apart in life after college. You are:

• Empathetic
  
  
• Disciplined
  
  
• Resilient
  
  
• Loyal
  
  
• Adaptable
  
  
• Gritty
  
  
• Coachable
  
  
• Driven
  
  

Think about the moments that have shaped you:

• Twenty-five meters left in the freestyle race
  
  
• The torn ACL
  
  
• The bottom of the 9th
  
  
• 5:30 a.m. practice
  
  
• The last-second shot that didn’t go in
  
  
• Motivating your team through a losing streak
  
  

Each of these moments holds a story — one of grit, heart, growth and leadership. You’ve experienced triumph, pressure, disappointment and teamwork. And through it all, you kept going.

So the next time a potential employer asks what you’re good at, choose one of these qualities, share your story and remind them of your superpower.

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