SNELL MULTI-TASKS HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE...
CLEVELAND, OH (October 11, 2007) - Junior Elise Snell is one of the hardest working student-athletes on Case Western University’s campus. Not only is Snell an excellent outside hitter on the Spartan volleyball team, but she is extremely active all over the Case community.
The Valparaiso, Indiana native is a biomedical engineer [BME] major with hopes on day of helping people.
Snell did research this past summer at the University of Illinois at Chicago in neural prostheses and over the last two semesters has worked with Dr. Ken Gustasson, a faculty member in the BME department at Case Western Reserve. His research is on bladder control neural prostheses for spinal cord injuries.
“I was working with stroke rehabilitation through electrical stimulation in the brain,” said Snell. “I put different electrodes in the brain and recorded how it affected the recovery of a stroke. I love research - it’s really a passion of mine.”
Being active in the Case Association of Student Athletes [CASA] is another passion of Snell’s, who has been active in the organization for two years. CASA moves to create more athletic awareness among the Case Western Reserve student body.
“It [CASA] has helped athletic attendance insurmountably,” said Snell. “Our main charge is getting students to sporting events and promoting athletics, so that they become more recognizable and important campus wide.”
Add in practice or games, classes and studying, and Snell is so active it’s hard to understand how she’s able to integrate all her activities in to just one day.
“Time-management is the key to my success,” explained Snell. “You have to use your time wisely and allocate the right amount of it to each task. “Sometimes you have to take a break or you’ll go insane from working hard all the time.”
Snell, who currently ranks third on the team with 2.37 kills per game, had a set back almost a year ago to date. At the second 2006 University Athletic Association [UAA] Round Robin in Chicago, Snell went up for a block and an opponent accidentally came under the net and stepped on her ankle.
“I had to have reconstructive ankle surgery and could not play for the next seven months,” said Snell. “I’m back with a nice big scar down on my foot, but it’s a battle wound and I embrace it.”
The volleyball team has improved immensely over the last year. A year ago, Case Western reserve finished 12-25 under first-year Head Coach Karen Farrell. This season the Spartans are already 10-12 just past the halfway point.
“Everyone’s in the weight room training hard,” said Snell. “Our record has improved tremendously from my freshman year [5-31] and our level of competitiveness in the UAA is much better. Teams don’t come in thinking they can walk all over us anymore.”
The Spartans will host the second 2007 UAA Round Robin Tournament on Oct. 13 and 14 in the Veale Center. Click here for tournament information.
“This weekend is a true test for us,” explained Snell. “Home court advantage is huge and I’m extremely excited because my family is coming in for the weekend and I haven’t seen them since August. Our fans are unbelievable – it makes such a huge difference playing in front of them.”
TAKING CARE OF THE YOUTH … The Case Western Reserve volleyball roster has 16 players listed on it. Eleven [six freshman, five sophomores] of them are underclassmen and there is only one senior. So add mentor to Snell’s long “to do” list.
“Mentoring is one of my favorite parts of volleyball,” explains Snell. “Freshmen are scared because college courses and being away from home is new to them. I’ve been through the ups and downs and know what it takes to get through. I always say to the freshman, ‘this is what I did, this is how it worked.’”
-end- |
