College sports headlines have been filled with news of NIL (Names, Image, and Likeness) payments into the multi-million dollar range and athletes entering the transfer portal to search for greener pastures. At Cornell College, and at other schools like us, we strive to provide what college athletics was designed to be—the complete experience. We encourage our student-athletes to strive for excellence, not perfection, in everything they do. We want them to be excellent students, strive for excellence through training and competition in athletics, and find additional opportunities that make the four-year college experience extraordinary. Two student-athletes who recently graduated are perfect examples of this.

Ella Becker ended her volleyball career as a four-time conference champion, four-time national tournament qualifier, two-time first team all-conference performer, an All-American, and a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner. She was involved on campus, held several work-study jobs, conducted research, and demonstrated outstanding leadership for our team and our department. Ella faced challenges during her career, including injury, changing team dynamics, and an evolving leadership role. She persisted and grew into one of the most impactful student-athletes to wear a Cornell volleyball jersey. After graduation, she will attend graduate school in athletic counseling and coach volleyball to help others have life-changing experiences.

Isaac vanWestrienen ended his illustrious career as a national champion. His story is one of dedication and staying committed to a goal. Early in his career, Isaac was a very good runner, but not elite. It was persistence, desire to achieve a goal, and support from teammates and coaches that helped him win the outdoor 10,000-meter championship and led him to a national runner-up performance in the 5,000-meter run. Isaac also successfully balanced his academic work, his leadership on campus, and his dedication to becoming one of the most decorated athletes in Cornell history. Isaac still has lofty goals and plans to run professionally and dreams of competing in the Olympics.

As a college coach, I used to say that academics come first, commitment to athletics second, and other opportunities somewhere after. After 25 years of working to make an impact on our students, it is apparent to me that success isn’t about prioritizing; rather, it is about balance, energy management, persistence, a lot of hard work, and being an outstanding teammate. Achieving success as a student-athlete and in life means striving for excellence, not perfection, in all that you do.

At Cornell College, we will keep working hard to provide opportunities where young people like Ella and Isaac can be the architects of their own amazing four-year experience.