ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Former Wildcat volleyball player
Kylie Thorne has officially concluded her Wildcat career after earning her bachelor's degree in Chemistry and in Education with a minor in Math in 2023.
The Pasco, Wash. native graduated from Chiawana High School in 2020 before joining the Wildcat volleyball team the past four seasons. While as a member of the crimson and black Thorne earned Honorable Mention All-GNAC her junior season and was a three-time member of the GNAC All-Academic Team with a 4.0 GPA. This past spring Thorne received the Student Employee of the Year Award in the Knowledge category from the university for her work tutoring with the Freedman-Remak Student Athletic Academic Success Center.
Below is a question and answer with Thorne on an inside glimpse of the life of a student-athlete and how she's maintained her success both on the court and in the classroom:
Q: Congratulations on earning the Student Employee of the Year in Knowledge. What was winning that award like for you?
Thorne: It was kind of a surprise. Austin (Lee) told me a while ago that he nominated me and I just kind of was like "Oh thanks, that's great," not thinking much of it. Then, when I went to the awards ceremony, they told me that I had won, and I received the award and I just wasn't expecting it. It was a nice surprise, it made me feel good about all of the work that I've been doing the past couple of years.
Q: What's been the experience working at the FRSAASC the past three years and seeing a transition with Austin Lee taking over last year?
Thorne: I absolutely loved my time working there, obviously my majors are Chemistry, Education, and Math, so 95 percent of my tutoring I do there is in those subjects, so it's me getting to do what I like to do. Obviously, I chose Chemistry because I really enjoyed it, so now I get paid to do what I like to do which is always nice. It's always fun to work with student-athletes work with my peers because we all go through the same things and the same struggles in what it takes to be a student-athlete trying to balance school, life, sports, weights, and everything else that goes on, especially in season. So, I think knowing that we're all going through the same type of thing is something that we can bond over and then work through to have success in the classroom as well. I've absolutely loved it. I've had such a good time working with the people I do. I would say that the past year or so I might've taken on a bit more responsibility within the FRSAASC in trying to help new employees, or just taking on a bigger number of students that I'm tutoring and with that a bit of a bigger course load. Overall, it's been a great time.
Q: How did you get into tutoring at the FRSAASC?
Thorne: My freshman year, I helped some different people with different math classes whenever they needed help. Avery Fisk actually was tutoring at the time, and she told me one day, "Kylie, you should definitely tutor next year, they need tutors and you'd be really good at it. I think you'd enjoy it." She was indeed correct, and here I am three years later. I'd say Avery opened that door for me.
Q: What do you enjoy about tutoring?
Thorne: I think that the biggest draw is when I work with people, especially over long periods of time, throughout the quarter, or even for a couple of years in different classes, is seeing them build their confidence academically, and in other aspects of their life. It's just really nice to see. When they start out the quarter and things are maybe not going great, we just keep working, and then by the time that we're studying for their finals and finals week is coming around and I give them a problem, and they get it and they're excited and proud of themselves it's kind of a proud teacher moment, and they're happy which makes me happy. I think that that's one of the big things is helping them realize that they have the ability, they just need the confidence, and they'll build the their skills to success. Seeing them do these things and good grades in classes that they didn't think they could ever get, and they kill it, they do great is just so rewarding. It also kind of shows them that they can do this and instills that thinking in them, and I think that's great. Also, I think just the relationships with the people that I get to meet. Some of them are my teammates, so I already have that relationship with them volleyball-wise, but some other people I never would've met or really known to the level that I do if it weren't for meeting with them weekly in tutoring and getting to hear updates on how their sport is going, how their life is going. I feel like I'm more than a "we only strictly talk about chemistry or math" tutor, we have some conversations more like "how's life going? How's your other classes? What's going on in your sport, weights, etc.? How's this week going?" and they tell me about their other accomplishments that they're having outside of the classroom as well. So, just building those relationships and really getting to know more people at a level more than an "oh yeah, I know OF that person" relationship without tutoring, but with tutoring I can tell you about that person and tell you individual stuff about them.
Q: I was told a story about when you and the volleyball team were down at regionals at CSUSB and there was a line of teammates that were waiting for tutoring help from you. Is that a common occurrence?
Thorne: I feel like it is. I frequently get, well when it comes to my teammates, I've received the reputation of "oh if you need help with school go to Kylie" especially if it's in chemistry or math. I feel like that's a reputation that I like to have. So, I'll usually get texts from my teammates frequently like "Hey Kylie, I need help with this concept, can we meet really quick?" and I'm always down to help. We'd have tutoring sessions while we were on away trips, on the bus, in the hotel, wherever. There'd be different things that I'd help them with depending on what they were working on, and I had a great time every time, I think it's fun and I think they were grateful to have someone who can help. It was funny though because it's like the biggest games of the season, and what are we doing when we wake up in the morning? Math. It was definitely a funny situation, kind of ironic that we're here for volleyball, but it's the life of a student-athlete, you still have to balance school and sports. I think our team does a really good job of getting both done, and whatever help I can be to that, I'm willing to do it.
Q: How did you get interested in math, science, and chemistry?
Thorne: In high school I really enjoyed the science and math classes, so I knew that I wanted to do something in that field. I also really enjoyed helping my friends and my sisters, teaching and helping them with whatever they needed, and so I kind of told myself "Oh yeah, I'll do this when I go into college." The chemistry classes right off the bat I absolutely loved, and the math ones were great too, but chemistry is definitely my favorite… but math's up there too.
Q: You earned your Bachelor's in Chemistry correct?
Thorne: Chemistry was my main major, and then math was my minor. I really loved the science classes, but I really didn't want to go into industry or lab work and research, I more like the human interaction and teaching part of it. So, I took some teaching classes and after the first couple of classes, when I've had some experience teaching my own lessons in a classroom and working with students I kind of realized it was an "oh yea, this is exactly what I want to do," type of situation. I just kept going with it and I absolutely loved it. So, it's kind of based off the classes I took in high school in how I got into chemistry and math, and then in college it just reaffirmed that it was the correct decision. Tutoring is just a part of the field, having 25 kids in the class I'll typically work anywhere from 1-10 at a time, and doing that is fun. It's just what I want to do, and I got to do it while in college with people that are fun to work with.
Q: You've been doing some student-teaching, what's that experience been like?
Thorne: I student taught last spring at Ellensburg High School, which was great, and then this past year I've been doing a lot of subbing at the middle and the high schools. I've had a blast, it's kind of nice not having to plan my own lessons, even though I do really enjoy making lessons, it's really easy honestly. I feel like Ellensburg isn't a super big high school either, so I got to get to know a lot of the students and I get excited to see them and they get excited to see me, so it's kind of a win-win on top of the fact that I love teaching.
Q: What are your plans now that you're officially done at CWU?
Thorne: I'm currently in the process of applying and interviewing for a lot of jobs. There's a couple of jobs that are kind of up in the air right now. Some of them have coaching volleyball in them too, so fingers crossed that I land at one of those spots.
Q: Is there a dream place that you would accept in a heartbeat?
Thorne: I don't know if I necessarily have one specific place, I'd say probably just somewhere in central or eastern Washington, somewhat close to home. Getting to teach chemistry would be my top choice. Teaching chemistry and math would be my next choice with teaching math third, but then you also have to account where I'd have the opportunity to coach because that would move some options over others. So, yeah, I think right now if I get a couple positions that I've interviewed for, I'd be pretty happy.
Q: So, you graduated with a 4.0 GPA, an accomplishment and a half. What has been that process to maintain that, and find a balance in your schedule that allows you to put the emphasis on the student part of the student-athlete?
Thorne: I think that I naturally prioritize school, I set a lot of high goals for myself, and some of these classes were really hard and I mean they landed the right way, I guess. So, I think that if you talk to people that are around me, they'll say "oh she's always studying, she's always doing this," and yeah it's true, but I balance it with the social life, and the sports and everything, but it was definitely a busy four years. IT wasn't easy, but I feel like I also when on breaks would just pass out like my body would tell me "Oh this is break time, do nothing school-related at all," and so, that break time allowed me to set and focus on those priorities and allowed me to dedicate a lot of time to it.
Q: Your studies obviously didn't deter you from the athlete side of the student-athlete experience as you were an All-GNAC honoree during your career here at CWU, what was the time on the volleyball team like for you?
Thorne: I'd say that it was some of the best years of my life. I know that that's a cliché thing to say, but it truly was. I feel like Mario (Andaya) and Lauren (Herseth) run a great volleyball program, on top of the athletics staff as a whole make it the whole experience for all of us athletes one that's hard to pass up, and one that I think most everyone will look fondly on after their time at Central, an always proud to be a Wildcat-type of thing. It was a busy four years, you have your highs and your lows, that's always true when it comes to sports, but I think that having a good group of people around you helps you so much to get through it. Some of my teammates were fantastic, they're my best friends, and I'm going to be best friends with them for the rest of my life, they aren't going to go away. Being a student-athlete was definitely one of the harder things I've done in my life but getting to do it with those people made it 100 percent worth it.
Q: What advice would you give current or future college students, specifically student-athletes to help maintain that balance to get where they need to be to graduate?
Thorne: I think that it's a choice that you have to make. It's not a choice that anyone can make for you. If you are a great athlete, you can't be a great athlete on the field in games if you aren't eligible to play from the classroom. The balance is different for each person, and so working to find that balance for yourself is very important. The effort you're putting into school, and the effort you're putting into your sport and your social life are all important, and you can't have one without the other otherwise you risk the potential of getting completely burnt out. It's hard to find that balance sometimes, I've struggled to find that balance. There's been some quarters that I put way too much of a priority on tutoring and school and Mario would ask me "Dude, Kylie, what's going on on the court man?" I've learned that lesson the hard way sometimes, so it's a balance whether it's coaches or teammates or an academic mentor at the FRSAASC, there's a lot of people out there to help you find that balance. I think working hard to find that balance as early as possible is important and then when it comes to the classroom, it may suck, and you may not enjoy all of the classes that you take, but sometimes there's sacrifices that you have to make in order to do the things such as your sport that you really enjoy doing. It's a life lesson in my opinion. There are sacrifices that you have to make in order to do what you want to do, and that's very true in college athletics, and there's a lot of lessons that you can learn from it.
