Student-Athlete Check In: Hannah Zemaitis -- Penn State Field Hockey
As the events of early March unfolded and changed all over the country, Penn State student-athletes found themselves facing uncertainty and transition in their academic and athletic realities.
Today we check in with field hockey player Hannah Zemaitis. Zemaitis earned both Academic All-Big Ten honors and NFHCA National All-Region laurels this past season!
Zemaitis took the time to answer some questions from GoPSUsports and offers some good insight into the daily life of a Nittany Lion during this time:
GoPSU: What was your first reaction when you heard that spring break had turned in to online learning?
Hannah:
I was very sad when I learned that the rest of the semester turned into online learning from home. Penn State offers so much when it comes to the in-class experience and learning. I find it very beneficial to be in a "face-to-face" learning environment because it makes me more attentive and where everything more accessible. Knowing that I wasn't going back to campus to see my teammates and not having spring training was something that I have never expected to happen. On the other hand, this pandemic has changed my perspective to focusing on what is most important such as the health of everyone, especially my family.
GoPSU: How have you been adapting to online learning?
Hannah:
I have actually adapted pretty well!! The key with staying on track and being attentive with online zoom classes is having structure to my day. I made sure that I was on the same schedule as if I was still at school by attending class in the morning to midafternoon and then Peloton workouts to follow. I am an economics major so the biggest change for me was the format of the exams going from open ended questions to multiple choice questions. In result, I have had to change my studying process and expected the unexpected. I thought it was going to be a challenging adjustment, but I focused on my schedule and new study habits as well as having a positive outlook on the situation by spending more quality time with my family.
GoPSU: What has your family been doing together during this extended period of social distancing? Any family activities, etc.?
Hannah:
My parents and I have taken advantage of this time to relax and get things done around the house. All of us have our Netflix shows that we have been diving into such as Breaking Bad and my absolute favorite, Money Heist. Every night we enjoy having a home cooked meal and having great quality time together. I have enjoyed the fires with my parents on Friday nights taking a mental break from the busy lives that we have had. One missing piece of our quality family time is my brother Andrew who lives out in Minnesota working for 3M. I miss him every day and wish that he was here with us during this time.
GoPSU: What is the one thing you miss most right now about not being back at Penn State?
Hannah: The thing I miss most right now about not being back at Penn State is my amazing teammates and best friends. Field Hockey is something that I absolutely love and the whole process that comes with it such as the practices, hard runs, lifts, meetings etc. Even though it can be a rigorous schedule, it is what keeps me sane as a student athlete. I miss the hard workouts and practices with my teammates because it makes us so much stronger and bonded together as family. I also miss the fun moments in the locker room with our fun dance parties and just enjoying each other's presence.
GoPSU: How have you been keeping in contact with your teammates?
Hannah: Every week we have zoom meetings and it's so nice and refreshing to see everyone's faces, laughing and smiling as if we were all together hanging out in the locker room. We also have smaller accountability groups that consist of five teammates. It is a great way to keep in touch, have smaller zoom meetings, share fun workouts on Peloton or just see how we are all doing.
GoPSU: What other things have you done during this time away from Happy Valley?
Hannah: Other than having online classes and working out, I have taken this time to just relax and take a mental break from all of the everyday life that I would go through up at state college. As a challenge for all of us on the team from Nick, our team nutritionist, we had to make a themed dinner for our family consisting of three courses. It was fun to make a whole dinner for my family all by myself while they got to sit back and relax and then enjoy the food I made. I have also enjoyed zooming with our other family members every week to see how they are doing during quarantine.
