Being a student-athlete is a full-time job, and on National STEM Day, we are highlighting someone who has one of the most difficult jobs of them all: Ally Barrett, a UConn volleyball student-athlete in the STEM field. Barrett is a senior from Geneva, Illinois. She is an outside hitter on the volleyball team as well as a chemical engineering major.
Barrett said she had always loved math and planned to be a math major, but in her junior year of high school, she took AP chemistry and loved it. Her teacher encouraged her to consider chemical engineering in college, so she decided to give it a try, and she's still with it over three years later. However, Barrett said that despite the name, there's not as much chemistry involved in chemical engineering as one would think.
Barrett said chemical engineering has its pros and cons. It's a lot of difficult work, but she really enjoys the small, tight-knit community.
"There's about 60 of us in our grade, and we take almost all the same classes because it's such a strict curriculum," Barrett said. "So you know a large chunk of your class, and you go to class and you see all your friends. If you ever struggle, you have so many people you can go to."
Barrett said it's a tough schedule with the demanding curriculum of chemical engineering on top of volleyball.
"Life is very busy, but it's like an organized chaos," Barrett said. "We have a practice block for volleyball, and then you schedule all your classes. So you just have to make time. I make little appointments with myself … You just really have to time manage, but it's very busy."
She said it's hard sometimes not to get overwhelmed, but staying organized is a big help. Barrett tries to schedule out her day with her planner and take one thing at a time so she feels like she's actually getting things done. She said volleyball actually helps her get things done, because when she's most busy, she's also most productive.
"As much as it takes up a lot of my time, [volleyball] has also taught me a lot of skills when it comes to managing [time]," Barrett said. "In some ways, by being so busy with volleyball, it actually helps me."
Volleyball is also a way for Barrett to counter the stresses of her academic life with something she really loves.
"I have played volleyball very competitively since like eighth grade," Barrett said. "It's part of who I am. When I get to step on the court, I can't even explain it because it's not just doing something I enjoy, it's doing something that is who I am. Even on your bad days, you feel very whole. It is a very nice break, and I'm very blessed that I get to do that."
She said she doesn't take the opportunity to play college volleyball for granted because she knows after this year, she will never play volleyball very competitively again.
Barrett said she has already started applying for jobs after graduation. She really enjoys the hands-on lab and research part of chemical engineering, so she hopes to land a position that will allow her to continue down that path. But she said she is keeping all her options open.
Being a STEM major is hard. Being a student-athlete is hard. Combining the two of them is incredible, and Barrett deserves to be applauded. Her advice to younger student-athletes pursuing a STEM major is simple: Get things done early and don't procrastinate.
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November 08, 2020 at 12:13PM
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National STEM Day Spotlight: Ally Barrett - University of Connecticut Athletics - UConn Huskies
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