I Wanted to be the First Female Baseball Player for the Cardinals by Sarah

I Wanted to be the First Female Baseball Player for the Cardinals by Sarah - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

I Wanted to be the First Female Baseball Player for the Cardinals
When I think back to six year old me and her career aspirations, I can only smile. Six year old Sarah wanted to be the first girl to ever play baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. While I never fulfilled my goal of playing professional baseball, I have an education and had a career revolving around athletics. Further, the degree I am set to embark upon is central to sport.
When my family moved to a smaller town and I was forced to play softball with the girls, suddenly I found my dream becoming less of a likely reality. I was not sure what I wanted to be. When I would get asked that question for the next several years, I would respond with answers like a teacher or a therapist. During my freshman year of high school, while on a trip for athletics, a coach suggested, “Tack, you should look into sports medicine.” At that point, again my career aspirations were back to sport. Probably for the first time, I realized there are careers in sport other than playing and coaching.
I went to college, thinking I would major in Athletic Training, which is a jack-of-all-trades sports medicine profession, and would pursue medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon. After three years, I learned how much I liked working in college athletics and did not want to go to medical school. I would still need a master’s degree to attain the level of career I wanted, but mostly was looking for a good clinical experience.
I managed to get a Graduate Assistant position in Athletic Training/Sports Medicine at Fresno State. Looking at what degree programs were offered to study for my master’s degree, only continued the track of athletics and sport performance. I earned a Master of Arts in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport Psychology.
Now I am much like the professional baseball player I once aspired to be, who at the end of their playing career must determine their next chapter. I intend to to get a Ph.D.at the University of Kansas in Sport Management. While I do not have the physical talents or abilities to play professional baseball, my passion for sport resulted in an education and molding me to help athletes achieve their peaks, which for some, has been to become professional athletes. Though I never reached the pinnacle of playing for the Cardinals, I am confident that the six year old me would still have found my path pretty cool.