Leadership lived: UIS women’s soccer player gets involved on and off the field

   
Jasmin Lisowski has been playing soccer since she was in kindergarten. Now, she’s living her dream playing NCAA Division II women’s soccer at the University of Illinois Springfield, while majoring in social work and psychology.

“My favorite part about playing soccer at UIS is that fact that I can be a student and be dedicated to my studies, as well as be part of a soccer team, which isn’t the case at every university,” she said. “I love the team so much, we bond so well together and I love spending time with them all of the time.”

On the UIS women’s soccer team, Lisowski has taken on an unofficial leadership role, helping to mentor new players. She admits that she wasn’t always a vocal member of the team, but says UIS helped her step up and become a leader.

“My freshman year coming in, I wasn’t as vocal as I am now,” she said. “I’m very vocal on the field now. I like talking to the younger players and tell them what they need to work on or what they did well and just guiding them in that way.”

On campus, Lisowski is part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society, the Capital Scholars Honors Program and the Psi Chi National Honor Society in psychology. She also traveled to the Florida Gulf Coast in March 2017 to volunteer with the Alternative Spring Break Program.

Most recently, Lisowski completed a study abroad trip to Malta and Rome in May 2017. As a student-athlete, she says it can be hard to travel during the summer months. However, she arranged her schedule so she could take part in the trip.

“It was an amazing experience. I was so excited to be able to do that,” she said.

Following graduation from UIS, Lisowski plans to earn her master’s degree and become a counselor or social worker in an emergency room.

Lisowski says she is glad that she chose UIS because she enjoys being part of a growing campus that is part of the University of Illinois System. She has also enjoyed the positive student-athlete experience and recommends UIS to others interested in playing sports.

“We just had an ID camp here last weekend and a lot of the parents asked us if we would have changed anything. I definitely would not have changed anything about my experience. I’m so glad I chose UIS.”