Vanessa Gonzalez, Master’s Student in Recreation and Sport Management, is the fifth recipient of the Joan Cronan Lady Vol Graduate Fellowship.
In her four years as an undergraduate, Vanessa Gonzalez had her ups and downs.
“Coming from Torrance, California, to play softball at Virginia Tech, I was homesick at times,” she says. “I tore the labrum in my throwing shoulder, and a sophomore slump on the field led to a slump in the classroom.” Her academic counselor, Tim Moore, helped her through.
“He was my comfort zone,” says Gonzalez, “someone I could turn to when things were tough. He’d remind me that there’s more to my life than softball. My junior year my grandma, who was the closest person to me, passed away in the midst of softball season. This was a very difficult time to be away from my family. Mr. Tim helped me through that as well.”
Those interactions led Gonzalez to think about becoming a counselor herself. “I always had an educational mindset, leaning toward counseling,” she says. Her mom, Wendy, a kindergarten teacher, and her dad, Manny, a refinery process operator at a Chevron plant, have done much to guide Gonzalez and her three siblings through their educational careers. “I wanted to take my experiences and use them in a positive way to help other collegiate athletes on the field and in the classroom.”
I wanted to take my experiences and use them in a positive way to help other collegiate athletes on the field and in the classroom.
– Vanessa Gonzalez, recipient of the Joan Cronan Lady Vol Graduate Fellowship
Gonzalez chose UT for her master’s degree in recreation and sport management. “Tennessee was always one of my favorite schools because of [Lady Vol pitcher] Monica Abbott,” she explains. “My freshman and sophomore years, UT hosted the NCAA regionals. We played here, and I remember walking around Market Square and thinking, ‘I could see myself coming here.’”
As assistant academic counselor in the Thornton Center, Gonzalez helps athletes in a variety of sports with schedules, study halls, tutoring appointments, mentoring appointments (for freshmen), study tips, time management, and organization.
Before the first day of her master’s program, Gonzalez learned that she was the fifth recipient of the Joan Cronan Lady Vol Graduate Fellowship, which was established by prominent UT alumnae Ann B. Furrow, Janet L. McKinley, and Frankie E. Wade to honor longtime Women’s Athletic Director Joan Cronan. This fellowship supports students interested in athletic administration and pursuing a master’s degree in recreation and sport management.
“It’s such a great program,” says Gonzalez. “Recreation and sport management has so many different aspects—it holistically helps you develop as a sports manager. The fellowship has helped a lot. It really allows me to continue to be out on my own.”
In her studies, she is working on a project analyzing how athletic participation affects freshmen transition into college and the strict schedule they must follow. After she finishes her master’s, Gonzalez will look for entry-level athletic counseling positions. “As I move forward, I want to continue to be myself,” she says. “One reason I want to continue this is to be genuine and authentic. That’s what the best counselors are.”
