By: Alejandro Gonzalez/Contributing Writer
From 6 a.m. practices, competitions, academic and sorority activities, track and cross-country runner Lauren Garcia does her best to balance it all.
While running for the FIU women’s cross-country and track team, Garcia is a member of the on-campus sorority Alpha Xi Delta.
Garcia joined almost two years ago in the 2017 spring semester.
“It was hard being in the sorority at first because of her desire to attend all of the sorority’s events,” she said. “I didn’t see myself as being in sorority and once I did it, I was like okay. I like doing both,” she continued.
The junior has been running since she was four years-old and competed during in high school at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy.
During her freshman year on the FIU team, Garcia competed in seven events where she posted a career best in a 5K at the Florida Tech Invitational with a time of 23:09.
She later qualified for the 2016 National Collegiate Athletic Association South Regional with a time of 29:40 in a 6K run.
For Garcia, being able to be in a sorority and a runner has been a pleasant experience.
“It is just really good that they do not have that barrier that you have to be an athlete and only an athlete,” said Garcia, “They are okay that I am in a sorority.”
In her academic career, Garcia says she puts school first. Even with all her extra-curricular activities, she took 17 credits in the 2018 fall semester.
Despite her busy schedule, Garcia hopes to continue running for her university teams while also being an active member of her sorority.
The post AXID Runner Balances Sisterhood and Sports appeared first on PantherNOW.