Athletes are some of the busiest students on campus and yet they often still find themselves excelling in their class work. For most students, class is enough to handle as it is. However, there is a certain group of student-athletes that seem to be above all others. Perhaps the two most time-consuming activities anyone could be involved in are collegiate athletics and Greek life. The two organizations teach their participants many different things, but it is a huge commitment that only a small percentage of either group dares to undertake.

In her senior year, Morgan Moline prides herself on the two biggest things in her life: running for the Storm Cross Country and Track teams, and her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma.

“As a runner, I am never really out of season, so between eighth grade and senior year of college, it has really just been a regular part of my day,” Moline said. “While it doesn’t always happen, I try to make every day a “business day”. I wake up before 8:00 every day and am productive until I have to go to practice. I finish whatever I didn’t get done after dinner.”

With her involvement in both organizations, Moline sometimes has to choose what she does and how much time she can commit to either one on a weekly basis.

“Part of the reason I chose Simpson is athletics and coach knows that, so he isn’t quite as lenient as KKG is, but he does sometimes move practice if there is a conflict because a lot of the cross-country team is actually in Greek Life as well,” Moline said. “Both sides support me in the best way.”

Moline is pursuing a liberal arts and elementary education double major (with a coaching minor) and the classwork keeps her busy. However, she feels like her KKG sisters and teammates are what keep her sane. From the inside jokes to the relationships that will last a lifetime, Storm Athletics and Greek life are huge factors that kept Moline busy and loving her Simpson experience.

Like Morgan, Cody Carlson is well-known around campus as well. He is majoring in applied philosophy with minors in management and coaching. On top of classwork, Carlson also plays football in the fall, Swims in the winter and is in a leadership position in his fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega. With everything going on in his life, Carlson can’t resist asking for help sometimes.

“Being in leadership at ATO means that sometimes I have to delegate responsibilities to other people who aren’t involved in sports or who have more time than I do in order to keep our chapter moving in the direction we want,” Carlson said. “Pretty much all of our brothers having participated in athletics at some point in their past so they understand the commitment athletics requires. They’re literally the best group of guys.”

During the season, Carlson has to make a schedule with a set time for studying because otherwise he’s less likely to accomplish what he needs to get done for class.

“This means sometimes waking up early to work on stuff before I have to go to class or during the couple hours I have between class and practice,” Carlson said. Whatever it takes, Carlson is willing to do because he, like Morgan, feels like he has gained so much from the organizations he has been a part of at Simpson.

Whether it is swimming, cross country, football or track, the balance of classwork with athletics is a significant load for any college student to have to deal with. To be able to balance all of this with the commitment of being part of a Greek organization is a feat only the most disciplined people can handle. But even they need help sometimes.