Elizabeth Sohns

Elizabeth Sohns

Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt of "Classroom All Stars," an article in the latest edition of UT Dallas Magazine. The piece was written by Bruce Unrue, associate athletic director-media relations/sports information director.

Soccer player Elizabeth Sohns — who graduated last May with a perfect 4.0 GPA — never took anything resembling the idiomatic easy class.

Hardly a surprise, since academically focused institutions like UT Dallas aren’t known for basket-weaving or other less-than-challenging courses that students sometimes use to boost their GPAs. For athletes like Sohns, that’s exactly why they chose demanding schools.

The fact that Sohns, who earned an honors degree in global business, made it through her entire academic career with an unscathed GPA is remarkable enough. Coupled with the fact that she accomplished all of this while also playing four years of soccer — as well as participating in other on-campus activities — borders on superhuman.

The demands any student-athlete faces in pursuing a sport while also managing an academic load can be rigorous. There are classes to attend, projects and papers to complete, and preparation for exams, all in addition to the in-season time commitment of three-hour practices five or six times a week, physical training and days spent away from campus for road games.

To manage all of this — and compile a perfect GPA as Sohns did — takes a special person. But she is not the only Comet who is a star in the classroom.

In 2013-14, almost 100 of the University’s student-athletes were honored as Academic All-Conference players by the American Southwest Conference.

Thirty-nine, including nearly the entire women’s cross country roster, were named last year to the UT Dallas Dean’s List in their respective schools, which recognizes the top 10 percent of students across campus.

Micah Easterling

Micah Easterling

For these Comets, academic success is more than simply meeting eligibility requirements. It provides another outlet for their competitive drive.

“Student-athletes are, by nature, competitive people,” said Bethany Werner, a senior volleyball player who, as part of an accelerated pre-health program, will graduate after just three years of study. “I always want to strive to be the best, to learn and push myself to do better and be smarter. On the court, it’s competing against another team. In the classroom, it’s competing with myself. I want to get as high a grade as possible. I don’t want to settle. There’s always the opportunity to push yourself to be better.”

Sohns said that her competitive spirit kicked in once she realized she had a chance to complete a perfect 4.0 college career.

“There was a time when I would secretly wish I could make a B in a class just to get that first one out of the way,” she said. “But then I got to the point where I thought, ‘I’ve made it this far. I have to finish this out.’ If I got a low A on a test, I’d get mad at myself. It drove all my friends crazy.”

Forget the stereotypical college lifestyle for these student-athletes. They regularly limit distractions that would prevent them from winning both on the field and in the classroom.

“I realized that between baseball, school and work, there wasn’t going to be a lot of down time,” said Micah Easterling, a senior pitcher on the Comets baseball team who has also earned Dean’s List recognition as a psychology major. “I had to learn time management and how to prioritize. It forced me to invest quality time in my studies and in athletics, and to compartmentalize different aspects of my college experience.

Bethany Werner

Bethany Werner

”I don’t want to imply that I’m better (than the typical student) because I have to do these things,” he said. “But I realize it has been good for me because I’ve learned how to handle extreme situations. I think it’s brought out the best in me.”

It’s not unusual for a student-athlete to spend more time doing schoolwork than socializing with friends when the team is on the road. It’s very common to see half of the team buried in textbooks or laptops on the bus. Some student-athletes even make arrangements to take tests while on the road.

“There are times the team has watched a movie I’d really enjoy, or grabbed a few extra minutes of sleep,” Werner said. “But I know I just can’t afford to do that. There’s not been one trip that I haven’t had to bring schoolwork with me.”

Sohns admitted there were times when she would go straight to class without showering after a rigorous soccer practice. “I had to make a lot of apologies,” she joked.

So, why do so many take on the challenge at a school that does not give athletic scholarships?

“I don’t think any of us were ready for our athletic careers to end,” said Easterling, who plans to pursue a career in physical therapy.

“We all play our sport because we love the game,” Werner said.

Sohns agreed.

“We’re not tied to the sport because of scholarships or anything like that,” Sohns said. “We play because we enjoy it. That makes it a special part of the total college experience. Not only are we getting to continue our athletic careers, but we’re getting an exceptional education as part of the process.”