Team Conditioning Systems:
Athlete Spotlight: Kristen Stewart

Thursday, March 2, 2000

By Joanne Costantino
SJSports Staff Writer

Kristen Stewart of Maple Shade is in her sophomore year at Rutgers University. She thrives on competition and couldn't make a choice to focus her talents on one sport, so she plays all her favorites. Since before her high school days, Kristen has played soccer, softball, and basketball. Her soccer career includes travel teams as well as high school, and now with Rutgers as a goalie. In softball she plays centerfield in an ASA league, and last but not least this diminutive young woman plays guard in basketball.

With a split major in English and Secondary Education, Kristen plans to teach high school English when she is finished with her own education. Her plan is to teach literature and poetry classics like the plays of Shakespeare and Homer's Illiad and Odyssey. To teach in a secondary school will giver her the opportunity to also continue with her love of athletic competition by coaching high school sports.

For each of the sports Kristen plays she has a favorite player. In soccer it is Jorge Campos, in softball it is Dot Richardson, and in Basketball she is a fan of Jason Williams.

In what little spare time she has, Kristen likes to surf. Her favorite music artist is the Dave Matthews Band and she likes to watch Seinfeld. If given the chance she might just like to play safety on a football team (big maybe).

Personal strength and courage were traits that Kristen learned early in her high school years when her Grandmother died. Her Grandmother handled her illness and suffering bravely and with dignity, and from that experience Kristen has taken on a spirit of grit and daring. One would have to be daring to look forward to the challenge of teaching old world classic literature to High Schoolers.