Leadership lived: Student-athlete winning in the classroom and on the course

Rebbecca Ramirez of Springfield has been playing golf ever since her father bought her a pair of clubs at a garage sale. Now, as a member of the Prairie Stars golf team, she’s played in 11 tournaments and has a stroke average of 82.91.

“I started playing golf when I was 12 years old,” she said. “We were just testing it out to see what I could do.”

At the University of Illinois Springfield, Ramirez is majoring in psychology and using what she learns in the classroom to help her on the course. She likes golf because the sport has helped her grow as a person and a leader.

“I just like the pressure that golf puts upon me because it makes me a better individual,” she said. “It’s just kind of like a life lesson it has taught me.”

Ramirez admits balancing her time on the course and in the classroom can sometimes be a challenge, but she’s found ways to manage her time and succeed. She was recently named to the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s Academic All-GLVC list for 2014-15.

“School does come first, even though golf is always on my mind,” she said.

After she graduates from UIS, she plans on earning her Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA) certification and start coaching others in the sport she loves.

She’ll look back at her time spent at UIS and the lessons she learned fondly.

“In one word, I would say that UIS it’s been awesome,” she said.