The Power of Intention with Lauren Schad, Pro Volleyball Player & Activist
In this episode of the Started With A Dream Podcast presented by 9INE POINT, Jacolby Gilliam interviews Lauren Schad, a former professional volleyball player and ambassador of the Red Ribbon Skirt Society. Lauren is a Nike N7 ambassador and a graduate of the University of San Diego. Today, Lauren shares her inspiring story of starting as a young athlete whose goal was to get a letterman jacket to becoming a pro athlete. helping younger athletes achieve exposure and reach their goals.
Lauren starts by sharing her goal as a younger athlete and how being brought up in South Dakota encouraged her to be involved in multiple sports. She talks about exploring colleges and how her dreadful freshman year almost had her giving up on her dreams. She talks about the moment she decided to go pro, and ended up playing and settling in France. Lauren inspires the upcoming indigenous athletes through her community efforts and work with the Red Ribbon Skirt Society. Lauren is driven to encourage younger athletes to chase their dreams and enjoy their moments.
Key Points:
- Lauren’s goal when she was a younger athlete
- A dream about her high school letterman jacket
- How growing up in South Dakota influenced Lauren’s participation in sports
- Getting into college sports
- A shocking event that propelled the next phase in Lauren’s career
- Lauren discusses getting recruited into University of San Diego
- The challenges Lauren faced as a freshman
- Taking care of your mental health
- Lauren’s decision to go pro
- Giving back to the community through the Red Ribbon Skirt Society
- Helping younger indigenous athletes by bringing them exposure
- Lauren’s advice to younger athletes
Quotes:
“My freshman year is the only year out of my entire volleyball career that I’ve won a championship.”
“It’s okay to put a little bit of pressure on the coaches, especially when as an athlete, you can’t miss on those other opportunities.”
“As athletes, we just look at our next goal. We achieve it, we look at our next goal, we don’t ever really take a time to reflect on the things that we’ve done, and to really appreciate the work that we have put in to get to this point.”
“This sport, as much as I loved it, had started becoming more of a job for me.”
“The impactful thing about athletes is that they’re able to make a big impact on strangers from all over the world…You’re bringing in a new group of people every game.”
