KIRA KOPEC
The following is a spotlight profile on Kira Kopec, the University of Massachusetts's nominee for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. The Atlantic 10 institutions nominated a total of 14 outstanding student-athletes for the award (READ MORE). The A-10 will profile each of the institutional nominees.
PROFILE
Kira Kopec is an A-10 Champion, both individually and as part of the UMass Women's Track and Field Team that won the 2022 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships. She holds A-10 gold medals in the pentathlon (2020 and 2022), setting the league league in 2022. She's also a member of the UMass 4X400 relay team that holds the school record. A team leader and spokesperson for her teammates, she's also an eight-time Dean's List honoree, and she's been named to the USTFCCA All-Academic Team, is a member of Alpha Chi Sigma, and the Atlantic 10 Track and Field All-Academic Team. Her scholastic career culminated with earning the UMass Athletics Scholar Athlete award and an A-10 Postgraduate Scholarship in 2022. Kopec was also very active in volunteering, serving as President of the International Student-Athlete Association, while also serving as a Track and Field Group Teacher for a local youth clinic and local elementary schools. She assisted in medical administration of Transcranial Magnetic Therapy in depressive patients through an internship, and was an academic aid and teaching assistant in the UMass Microbiology department.
Q&A WITH KIRA
Q: What would you consider the top moment of your college career?
I would have to say the highlight of my college career would be winning A10 Championships this past 2022 outdoor season. Being able to come together and win the title alongside an amazing and hard working group of women is a moment I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Some of the best advice I have been given would be from Coach Jackson, that as student athletes we “bend, don’t break”.
Q: What are the top three things on your bucket list?
- Travel through Europe
- Visit the Northern Lights in Alaska
- Go skydiving
Q: What is one thing you would go back and do differently if you could?
If I could go back and do anything differently, I would go back to the start of college and have more appreciation for the past 5 years. The time goes by so fast I wish I could have spent more time living in the present with my friends and teammates.
Q: What was your favorite class/professor and why?
Abnormal Psychology with Dr. Halgin was the most exciting classes I have ever taken! Being able to delve deep into the minds of his past patients and seeing how his profession had impacted so many lives reinforced my desire to want to study medicine.
Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of?
The accomplishment I am most proud of would have to be winning back to back indoor pentathlon titles as well as breaking the A10 record. Coming off of COVID and entering into my last indoor championship I am proud that I put any doubt aside and trusted that my abilities could lead me to success.
Q: What do you think is the most important issue for student-athletes today?
I would say one of the most important issues student athletes face is finding a balance to their lives beyond sport. As athletes we fall victim to placing a large emphasis on our results which can compromise physical and mental health. It is important to not only enjoy our sport and put forth our best efforts, but to also remember who we are and want to become beyond athletics.