Johanna Schulz
My Journey: Johanna Schulz
9/17/2019 9:31:00 AM | Women's Cross Country, Women's Track and Field
It was the combination of a prestigious University, a good track team and the coaching staff that attracted me to Wake Forest. It seemed to be a good combination that could help me to reach my goals both academically and with running.
I'd like to highlight Coach Ferris as being influential in my personal development while at Wake. I didn't qualify for nationals because I fell in regionals, but he gave me the chance to run over the summer and I did. I ran in Washington, England, and Germany. Participating in those races was a great experience because I got to travel on my own and it made me appreciate the coaches more. I gained this appreciation because having coaches handle logistics is way easier than handling them on my own. Out of all of those races my best one was the German nationals! I got third and also crushed my personal record by five seconds. I remember Coach Ferris talking to me before the race and giving me encouragement. I always have a problem after 900 meters because I start to hold back. He convinced me to push through and I'm glad I listened because it led to me having a wonderful race.
As far as my educational background is concerned, I finished my undergrad in psychology in Germany and came last summer to pursue a master's in liberal studies. When I first came here, I wanted to stay for just one year and study liberal studies to get a broader educational background. I really enjoyed Wake Forest and ended up getting another year of eligibility so now I am in the business school studying management.
I did go through a culture shock phase because at home I never had a team this big. I'm used to running on my own most of the time, and decide everything myself and then suddenly I am at Wake Forest and I have to do everything with a team. But after that initial phase I experienced the benefits: You never have to do workouts on your own, there is always someone to push you when it gets hard and it´s so much more fun to run together! I can not imagine running without my team anymore.
The biggest obstacle with transitioning was the fact that Wake Forest gave more structure than I am used to. Here, we have coaches that are just coaches, while in Germany coaches have other jobs so they can't be there for us full time and we have to schedule many runs and workouts on our own.
I have a lot of fond memories at Wake Forest. Among my favorite memories is my first race in Boston because it was so different than the races I would run in Germany. In Germany there are usually only about 20 people watching. In Boston there was beautiful weather and there were over 200 people in attendance!
Initially I was overwhelmed by the number of people there, but ultimately it was a great atmosphere. Having such a large team makes running easier because you are with people that are pushing you to succeed. You aren't just running for yourself; you are running for the team!
My fondest non cross-country experience at Wake Forest is meeting professors. My overall experience with my professors is that they are willing to help, I feel like they really care.
I've learned many things while being a student athlete, but the biggest lesson learned is how to organize myself. Being a student athlete essentially taught me how to structure myself which is how I get everything done.
I would tell them that the most important thing is choosing the right group of associates. If you want to focus on school, you should choose to hang out with people that want to do the same. Practically everyone has difficulties when life changes in such a big way as going from high school to college - but these phases are just transitions, and if you keep up and stay with your friends, you're rewarded for it, like in running.
When you first arrive on campus one of the most important things you want to do is choose the right group of associates. If you want to focus on school, you should choose to hang out with people that want to do the same.
I'd like to highlight Coach Ferris as being influential in my personal development while at Wake. I didn't qualify for nationals because I fell in regionals, but he gave me the chance to run over the summer and I did. I ran in Washington, England, and Germany. Participating in those races was a great experience because I got to travel on my own and it made me appreciate the coaches more. I gained this appreciation because having coaches handle logistics is way easier than handling them on my own. Out of all of those races my best one was the German nationals! I got third and also crushed my personal record by five seconds. I remember Coach Ferris talking to me before the race and giving me encouragement. I always have a problem after 900 meters because I start to hold back. He convinced me to push through and I'm glad I listened because it led to me having a wonderful race.
As far as my educational background is concerned, I finished my undergrad in psychology in Germany and came last summer to pursue a master's in liberal studies. When I first came here, I wanted to stay for just one year and study liberal studies to get a broader educational background. I really enjoyed Wake Forest and ended up getting another year of eligibility so now I am in the business school studying management.
I did go through a culture shock phase because at home I never had a team this big. I'm used to running on my own most of the time, and decide everything myself and then suddenly I am at Wake Forest and I have to do everything with a team. But after that initial phase I experienced the benefits: You never have to do workouts on your own, there is always someone to push you when it gets hard and it´s so much more fun to run together! I can not imagine running without my team anymore.
The biggest obstacle with transitioning was the fact that Wake Forest gave more structure than I am used to. Here, we have coaches that are just coaches, while in Germany coaches have other jobs so they can't be there for us full time and we have to schedule many runs and workouts on our own.
I have a lot of fond memories at Wake Forest. Among my favorite memories is my first race in Boston because it was so different than the races I would run in Germany. In Germany there are usually only about 20 people watching. In Boston there was beautiful weather and there were over 200 people in attendance!
Initially I was overwhelmed by the number of people there, but ultimately it was a great atmosphere. Having such a large team makes running easier because you are with people that are pushing you to succeed. You aren't just running for yourself; you are running for the team!
My fondest non cross-country experience at Wake Forest is meeting professors. My overall experience with my professors is that they are willing to help, I feel like they really care.
I've learned many things while being a student athlete, but the biggest lesson learned is how to organize myself. Being a student athlete essentially taught me how to structure myself which is how I get everything done.
I would tell them that the most important thing is choosing the right group of associates. If you want to focus on school, you should choose to hang out with people that want to do the same. Practically everyone has difficulties when life changes in such a big way as going from high school to college - but these phases are just transitions, and if you keep up and stay with your friends, you're rewarded for it, like in running.
When you first arrive on campus one of the most important things you want to do is choose the right group of associates. If you want to focus on school, you should choose to hang out with people that want to do the same.
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