The transition from being an athlete to a regular student is not always easy to deal with. Senior Lydia Orf digs the change.

Orf was recruited out of St. Charles, Mo., to play volleyball at Murray State four years ago. She played soccer growing up, but said she got burned out and switched her focus to volleyball when she got to high school.

Orf said she owes her success and ability to play at a higher level to her high school coach.

“I definitely wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for a coach that I had in high school,” she said. “She liked to yell at me a lot, but it all paid off. I had her for one year. In that one year, I got a lot better. That’s the year Coach (David) Schwepker actually recruited me.”

Growing up, Orf placed most of her attention on sports, but now that graduation draws near, she has begun to focus on her future in the business world. She said learning to balance sports and academics has played a big role in preparing her to be successful.

“I think, if anything, it makes your time management skills really good being an athlete because you have to get stuff done,” Orf said. “If you don’t, you fail.”

On top of classes and volleyball, Orf was an intern in the athletics department as an I-Racer.

Through her position, she has helped with gameday operations and marketing. She has helped with promotions on the floor and video board, distributing flyers and writing game scripts.

Luckily for her, that is exactly the career she wants to pursue. About one month ago, Orf was accepted to an internship at Clemson in South Carolina.

There, she will oversee all video board production, and she’ll be in charge of the marketing for one sport. She said her experiences at Murray State helped her get the job.

“When I’ve been through an interview process to find a job after college, I’ve said one of my strengths is I can be an individual,” Orf said. “I know how to be an individual, but I also know how to work on a team. You have to know how to work together.”

After a year as an intern, Orf has the opportunity to keep the internship for one more year.

However, she might decide to attend graduate school and obtain a graduate assistantship.

Looking back, Orf said volleyball played just as much of a role in preparing her for the real world as her classes did.

“I think sports teach you a lot of things,” she said. “They teach you how to work as a team. They teach you to have work ethic. I’ve changed and grown a lot over four years, and I am appreciative of everything I’ve been given here because it’s helped.”

Orf said she cherishes the memories she made in volleyball during road trips with her teammates, but she values what she learned in the classroom more because those things will last after college and be useful.

Her days of playing the game may be over, but Orf plans to stay involved with college athletics. Even after her internships and graduate school, she plans to make a marketing career in college athletics.

“I like college sports,” she said. “It’s the atmosphere. You can’t beat it. Professional sports – it’s just different. I definitely could see myself staying in college sports.”

For now, though, Orf is enjoying a semester as just a student. As an experienced student athlete, she said she wishes students did not assume athletes do not do work.

There are times it may seem easy, but they do face added challenges during their seasons.

“It’s not just being an athlete all the time like people see,” Orf said. “You’re juggling everything at once. Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s not.”

Story by Ryan Richardson, Sports Editor.