Passion Is the Key to Success - A Student-Athlete’s Accomplishments in the Honors Program

Minoo Yar

Kaitlin Miller has loved to run since her childhood. She was introduced to other sports but chose cross-country and track. Her upbringing with her parents strongly influenced her passion for running as her parents are both athletic individuals. One of the experiences that deepened her love of running was when she was in high school and set a personal record by one minute for the 3000-meter race. She remembered the amazing feeling she had arriving at the finish line, as one of her coaches gave her a warm, proud embrace. She felt even more pride, however, in getting through her difficult post-COVID-19 recovery after falling ill in summer 2020. With the breathing difficulties she had long after the infection, she couldn’t perform up to her usual standards. But finishing her first cross-country race that fall, even though she finished last, counts as her proudest moments as a student-athlete. She recognizes that the effort and perseverance she showed marks this race as a satisfying and significant milestone.

The memories she shared with her teammates in college also strengthened her love of running as she and her teammates would bond by preparing a meal together weekly. One of Miller’s personal goals was to work on mental strength since she tends to put herself down. For instance, when she had an unsuccessful workout, she relied on her group of teammates for support. “If one of us does have a bad

Kaitlin Miller, senior pre-physical therapy major.

day, we’re all there to pick each other up,” stated the Honors senior. Her experiences and memories with loved ones helped make her collegiate life brighter and her passion for running greater.

Miller has held several leadership roles that pertain to athletics and the Honors Program. One of those leadership roles was serving as the student athletic advisory committee representative for the crosscountry team to discuss how to improve the student athlete experience. This role also included planning end of the year award ceremonies, volunteer experiences and more. “I take the opinions that I hear from my teammates, and I give that to the bigger group to make sure that they are all being heard.” Miller was awarded the academic performer of the year by her coaches as she demonstrated her dedication and passion for her sport as well as her effort to maintain an excellent academic performance. In the Honors Program, Miller was also an Honors fellow where she gave one-on-one peer advising to Honors students and assisted staff with tasks such as updating social media sites. Miller said that her involvement in the Honors Program has given her many great opportunities to help her earn scholarships. She added, “I don’t need to try to get an extra job. I am getting a scholarship because of the Honors Program.” This enabled her to better focus on training in her sport and performing at a higher caliber. Miller is also an accomplished student. She has done undergraduate research since she started at NIU, and just completed her senior capstone project for which she won an Outstanding Capstone Award. She credits this work with setting her up for success in graduate school. Miller has won the Alumni Association Scholarship as a junior and was most recently awarded the Outstanding Athlete-Scholar Award by the Honors Program.

Miller’s advice to student-athletes who want to be successful is, “You need to make sure that you really love your sport and love what you’re doing, not because you’re doing it [just] because of an Honors scholarship or your parents told you [that] you have to. Just make sure in your heart you really love what you are doing. I feel like if you have that, then with that comes all the dedication that you need to be successful.” Miller plans to continue research in graduate school and will seek more research opportunities from professors, get involved in as many ways as possible in extracurricular activities, and plans to observe and learn from other physical therapists who work specifically in hospitals and home-based therapy settings.

Kaitlin Miller running a cross-country meet.