Late nights studying finance and days roaming the soccer field...

During her four years her at NIU, senior soccer player Kim Schmitt has spent much of her time dedicating herself to her sport and crunching numbers in the classroom.
Often, her teammates joke about the Homewood-Flossmoor High School graduate’s seriousness with her school work.

Though, at the same time, they are also on the same wavelength, as all of them attempt to balance everything in their lives.

“We all learn that it’s not easy being a Division-I athlete, and we all struggle with time management,” said Schmitt, who two weeks ago netted the Huskies’ first official goal of the season.

Her soccer career has ended up paying dividends for her eventual career in finance.
This past summer, Schmitt had an internship, and she credited how being a student–athlete helped her land the engagement.

“When I interviewed for the internship, they really feed off that and wanted to know what I’ve gained from being a D-I athlete,” Schmitt said.

Although she doesn’t get a lot of playing time, Schmitt has always tried to take advantage of the time she has on the field.

“I’m not a starter usually, but when I’m in there, I just work my butt off for ten minutes,” Schmitt said.

The attraction to soccer has run deep in Schmitt’s family. Both of her brothers played soccer, and from them she grew the desire to play the game.

Though, at a young age, she had a minor misunderstanding, thinking she wouldn’t be able to play.

“I saw my brothers playing and I thought it was only a sport for boys,” Schmitt said. “So I was crying to my parents and I was like, ‘I want to play,’ and they were like, ‘well you can.”

Despite how talented both of her brothers were while playing, she was the only one out of her three siblings to play D-I.

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