Balancing act: How local student athletes maintain success in and out of the classroom

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As Clark County schools prepare to reopen, student-athletes across Las Vegas are getting ready for another year of balancing academics and sports.

Alex Eschelman spoke with students and staff to learn some tips for excelling in and out of the classroom.

Former Channel 13 Academic Athlete of the Month award recipient Quinn Steidler has found effective strategies to manage both school and athletic commitments.

"It was a lot about allowing myself time for everything, giving myself realistic goals and expectations," Steidler said.

Planning ahead is key to meeting those expectations.

"Organization is super important, keep a calendar," Steidler said.

David Wedley, UNLV associate athletics director for student-athlete academic services, agreed that these practices benefit all students.

"Early on, the department never had a 3.0 GPA for the entire athletic department," Wedley said. "We just earned our 16th straight semester of a 3.0 cumulative GPA for our student-athletes. And then for football specifically, early on when I was getting my feet wet, we were at a 2.2 GPA. Now fast forward to this past spring, we had a 3.24 semester GPA, which was a program record."

This record improvement stems from bringing fun competition into the classroom, an approach Wedley believes makes a difference for college athletes and the estimated 21,000 Clark County School District students who participate in sports.

"We play mini golf, we have a chess tournament," Wedley said. "This is our GPA Bowl, each week two position groups go head to head and the next week, whoever increases their GPA the most wins, they get a designated area part of the lab where they get special treats, special pens and academic supplies."

UNLV's academic center also has a "UNLV is dumb" sign propped up in the room.

"That was a little thing we got from Utah State last year," Wedley said. "A fan had it in the front row; I chuckled a little bit. After the game, I asked if we could have it for the lab, just something silly and fun to have as a reminder that if that's the perception, then we have to break that perception."

Steidler will work to break that perception in her own way as she begins studying mechanical engineering at UNLV this fall while participating in intramural sports.

"I would try to plan something once a week with a friend, or I would have a weekend, a day off where I would do something for myself," Steidler said.