Helen Chizmazia | Staff Writer | hchizmazia@mail.smcvt.edu
Finals week is known to be one of the most stressful weeks for college students. Spending hours studying for multiple exams while trying to maintain a balance of taking care of yourself and celebrating the school year can be challenging. Motivation looks different for every student but ultimately the goal is to be successful both academically and socially.
Ellie Drinkwater, Abbie Whitley, and Ryan Canty are juniors at St. Michael’s who all have maintained a 3.8 GPA (or higher) throughout their three years here.
Kylee Legg, a senior heavily involved in numerous clubs at St. Michael’s, explains what drives her on a day-to-day basis.
“You can see if your hard work pays off in school with a good grade or something like doing well on a test. It’s so different because in academics it only affects me,” Abbie Whitley said. “But in sports, I want to stay motivated for my teammates.”
Whitley, a neuroscience major with a Spanish minor, has earned NE-10 Academic Honor Roll for every fall and spring season she has played Division II Women’s Lacrosse. She expressed how her motivations for sports and school differentiate. Intending on a career in speech pathology, Whitley said she is motivated by thinking ahead to her future and has used it as her drive-in academics and athletics. She has also earned 2023-24 D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award, 2024 College Sports Communicators NCAA Division II Academic All-District, and 2024 NE10 Academic All-Conference. She also works on-campus and is a part of the student government.
“I think just that desire to always want to do the best that I can to help me with clients in the future and just do everything I can to help them get better,” Whitley said.
Ryan Canty is a junior at St. Michael’s with a health science major and business administration minor. Canty keeps busy being a part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Hope Happens Here. Playing on the baseball team is just one of the ways Canty finds motivation to be successful.
“I just have to grind out the last couple weeks then it’s finally going to be done and having that routine kind of helps you be organized which helps you motivate yourself to succeed on and off the field,” Ryan Canty said.
Vernita Weller, senior success advisor emphasized the importance of keeping in touch with professors throughout the semester. She views success and motivation as a partnership because of how often she has seen them work together. “Motivation happens because of something that ignites you… it (motivation) is like a by-product of success,” Weller said.
Kylee Legg is a member of the Founders Society, Honors Program, MOVE, Random Acts of Kindness, and Feminist Club at St. Michael’s. Legg keeps a busy schedule. The senior wrote a 30-page capstone paper in the fall where she identified with the feeling of being burned out.
“I’m a first-generation college student so it’s really important to me to do the best that I can to keep myself going,” Legg said.
Ellie Drinkwater, who is double majoring in elementary education and sociology, has earned NE10 Academic Honor Roll for every fall and spring season she has played at St. Michael’s College. She said motivation has led her to better time management and discipline allowing her to be able to enjoy school and sports better.
“I have found that when I separate myself from others, my workload feels too heavy and unmanageable. Being around people who make life fun, makes everything feel worth doing,” Drinkwater said.
These students credit much of their success with their drive to not only do well for themselves but also as a way they can improve their opportunities in the future. With the shared goal of wanting to do well for themselves and others, students continue to feel motivated by remembering what drives them to want to do better.