By: Nick Hall
Sarah Jurewicz, a Wittenberg University alum, is currently a professor and advisor in the Sport Management Department at Wittenberg University.
In a recent interview with a current Wittenberg student, Jurewicz was asked about her career choices, changes in her positions at Wittenberg and the ups and downs of her experiences leading up to where she is now.
Unlike many of the students she interacts with today, Jurewicz did not have a clear decision on what she wanted to do following her college career. During her last year of school, she was able to take on a Teacher Assistant (TA) role that she had her eyes opened to the world of teaching. Following her basketball career at Wittenberg, she was able to realize that a career in teaching was exciting to her and what she wanted to do for a living.
“The interaction with students and seeing them grow intellectually and personally is why I wanted to be in the classroom,” Jurewicz said.
Jurewicz was able to begin her work in the classroom immediately after graduating from Wittenberg. Along with working in the classroom, she was able to work with a local university’s basketball team as a volunteer.
It wasn’t long after graduating that life came full circle for Jurewicz when the Wittenberg women’s basketball head coaching position became available. Due to coaching full time, she had to step away from her teaching duties. However, she would return to the teaching profession in just a few years following her coaching career.
Although Jurewicz had been a teacher previously, it appeared she had some learning to do before diving all the way back in.
“The transition was not difficult at all,” Jurewicz said. “The hardest part was learning all the proper policies and procedures of the university. There were a lot of differences from the last time I was teaching full-time.”
“The easiest part was my mentor, Steve Dawson, who empowered me and helped me make the transition most successful.”
Jurewicz appears to have been prepared to help others through the guidance she received from Dawson when she decided to get back into teaching. Taking that advice in full stride, she eventually became an academic advisor in the Health, Fitness, and Sport department at Wittenberg.
“My favorite part about being an advisor is learning the specific desires and aspirations of students,” Jurewicz said. “It is great to have the one-on-one time to hear their desires and dreams for their life beyond Wittenberg.”
Jurewicz appears to accept the relationships with her students with open arms, and it appears students are just as accepting of those relationships.
“When things in school, basketball, or just life in general are all over the place, she is a good friend to talk to,” Kristie Kalis, ’21, a basketball player at Wittenberg University said, regarding the relationship she has built with Professor Jurewicz.
“Coach J inspires me in countless ways,” Kalis said. “She is confident in her abilities to teach others what she is passionate about.” It appears Kalis has found her mentor and role model just as Jurewicz did with her life and career.
