Each month the Southern Conference will feature a student-athlete from around the league in a series called the SoCon Spotlight. This will be an opportunity to get acquainted with the student-athlete in a different light. The question and answer session will focus on a student-athlete who contributes away from the field, course, mat or court through community service.
This month's SoCon Athlete Spotlight focuses on The Citadel's Lauren Fleming, a senior health and exercise science major from Gainesville, Fla. Fleming competes in pole vaulting for the Bulldogs, and when she's not on the field, she helps with fundraising events such as Race for the Cure. She has also volunteered at a therapeutic horseback riding center in Charleston. We recently sat down with Fleming to talk about her community service work and her experiences as a student-athlete at The Citadel.
Tell us a little something about yourself.
"I was born in South Carolina. I grew up here. I moved to Gainesville, Fla., when I was about nine, and wanted to get back to South Carolina. I wanted to get back to Charleston, so I came to The Citadel. I'm a senior about to graduate and go to physical therapy school upon graduation."
One of the reasons why we're interviewing you today is because you are involved in a lot of community service. One of the most recent community services you were involved in was Race for the Cure, so tell us a little something about that.
"Race for the Cure is something we've done since my freshman year at The Citadel. We've participated in it every year, and it's one of those things that we just really enjoy doing. The whole team gets together. We all wear our pink and run to the best of our abilities because some of the throwers, that's not necessarily something they do very often, but they enjoy it too. It's just a fun thing to do and get together. It's for such a good cause. We just really feel like it's a very fulfilling experience for us."
What is something that you learned going through that experience?
"I learned that there are so many people who struggle. I had a best friend of mine growing up in high school, and he came down with Leukemia. I understand how hard it is to go through something like that and to see people who have survived, who are trying to fight it, and just to see their support staff is just such a great thing. That's why we enjoy doing it every year."
What are some of the other community service projects you've been involved with?
"I actually work with a Charleston-area therapeutic horseback riding center. We work with autistic children as well as other children with disabilities. We help them walk; help them learn to communicate a little better. I've also played in a wheelchair basketball league, which is also been a lot of fun. I've had some great experiences doing that, as well as other races and other fundraisers and activities that we've done for people who need the help."
What is something that you would like to say to other student-athletes about becoming more involved in your community?
"I just think that it's one of things that often times it's a hard thing to make time for. We just don't think about it, but it's just like I said earlier, it's such a fulfilling thing to be involved in your community and to see the smiles and everything that you're bringing to other people. I think it's just such a good feeling that you can get out of it, and you meet so many new people, and you just get to learn so much from others. I think that's one of the best things that we learn when we do it."
You mentioned something about volunteering with horseback riding. Explain a little bit more about that. What did you actually do there?
"When I volunteered there, I was a side walker. I participate with the children in activities. We do activities with rings and all sorts of toys, as well as getting them to communicate with the horses and communicate with us. It's just such a good thing to see them really open up. For some children it's a hard thing. They grow up very frustrated, and so to see them really open up and really just enjoy what they're doing and have that independence of being able to do all these sorts of things. That's one of the biggest and most important things that we do at the therapeutic riding center."
How do you bring that into The Citadel and to your teammates? What do you bring from that to the campus?
"I think when my teammates understand what these children go through everyday it helps open up their eyes to the fact that yeah you're going to have those bad days, you're going to have those bad practices, but you've been given the gift of being able to run track, be a Division I athlete. I think to understand that and to really see that they've just been truly blessed. I think that's one of the most important things that they take from it and that I take from it everyday is that we are truly blessed to be athletes and be able to do what we do, and we love it. That's one of the greatest things I think about it."
Your dad is a member of the Class of 1991 from The Citadel. How did he influence your decision to come here?
"My dad was a grad. My uncle was a grad as well. They just grew up loving The Citadel, and so therefore I grew up loving The Citadel. It was just one of things where I applied, and I got accepted; the track coach contacted me. I just really felt like this was going to be a worthwhile experience. He definitely did the best that he could to encourage me to come here, and I have been in love with this school ever since I was younger. It just was a good fit for me."
What's the best part about being a student-athlete in the Southern Conference?
"Being a student-athlete, I think just learning to balance this heavy schedule that we have. It takes so much dedication and so much hard work to stick with it day after day and at the same time, meeting the people that you compete against and just seeing how much this can impact your life, really, is just one of the best things that I've learned."
Share some of your favorite moments running track at The Citadel.
"We had a small team my freshman year coming in, and our team has progressively gotten bigger, and that's been really exciting in itself, but I think going out there, running relays, honestly, I was pretty much [competed in pole vaulting] in high school and that was really all that I did. I'd run some hurdles here and there, but I actually participated in the pentathlon one year with a teammate of mine because she needed someone to compete with her. That was honestly a fun experience for me to learn how to throw the shot put and high jump. That was a good experience as well as breaking the school record my freshman year. That was just one of the most worthwhile experiences. Freshman year at The Citadel's pretty tough. That was just one of those things that really got me through. Little things like that here and there are what make this school so great. That was just one of those little things that I did my freshman year that really just made it worthwhile."
2009-10 SoCon Spotlight Featured Student-Athletes
Appalachian State - Sam Ramirez - Basketball (view article and interview)
College of Charleston - Emily Morgan - Soccer (view article and interview)
The Citadel - Lauren Fleming - Track & Field (view article and interview)
Davidson - Bryant Barr - Basketball (view article and interview)
Elon - Steven Kinney - Soccer (view article and interview)
Furman - Jessica Preeg - Tennis (view article and interview)
Georgia Southern - Jake Ware - Baseball (view article and interview)
UNC Greensboro - Emily Akiyama - Softball (view article and interview)
Samford - Patrick Wells - Track & Field (view article and interview)
Chattanooga - Maria Juliana Loza - Golf (view article and interview)
Western Carolina - Kristen Feemster - Basketball (view article and interview)
Wofford - Jordan Ingman - Football (view article and interview)