Green Wave Summer Spotlight: Laura Fabrizi
Jun 26, 2019 | Women's Tennis
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane Athletics will be putting the spotlight on student-athletes from all sports during the summer months, as many of them work internships, travel the world and share their unique experiences.
Check back each week for a new edition featuring another Green Wave student-athlete!
Check back each week for a new edition featuring another Green Wave student-athlete!
Who: Laura Fabrizi
What: Attending camp at Athletes in Action
When: Summer 2019
Where: Denver, Colorado
How were you introduced to the idea of attending Athletes in Action?
"I spoke to Kayla Manuirirangi on our women's basketball team, as she's a very good friend of mine. She's very involved with Athletes in Action. I was going through a really tough time in my life, personally, and Kayla introduced me to this amazing community of athletes that supports one another. I went into it after being told I would grow my faith and become more mature as a person and an athlete. After signing up and going through all of the events, I knew I was truly meant to be there."
Who else was there with you?
"There were groups of student-athletes from Missouri, Michigan State, Brown and Yale among others. I wasn't the only one from Tulane. Kayla, Lexie Douglas, Amanda Giardina, Jarrod Franklin and Randy Harvey were there, too."
What kinds of activities did you participate in?
"In the first few days of camp, we learned the Five Principles. They're questions for yourself and the first one is 'who or what do you play for?' That could be God, yourself, your teammates or anything like that. The second one is 'what motivates me?' which could be winning or losing, followed by 'how do I grow?' What I took from that was how I was emphasizing things in my life such as wins or losses being a part of my identity. They taught me that I'm not supposed to do that because my worth is not based on my successes. The final two are 'how do I deal with pain?' and 'victory beyond competition.'
What was the most challenging part of the experience?
"One of the most important parts of the camp was applying the principles in something they call S.P.E.C.I.A.L. It's 24-straight hours of training and it's the hardest thing I've ever done because it pushed my body to the limit. It's the hard times that I had to rely on someone bigger than myself. In this case, it was God and working with my teammates who I had to rely on to help me make it through."
What did you learn?
"I learned that I wasn't dealing with suffering and loss in a positive way. Suffering is part of life and it made the fall (semester) really difficult for me. I think I needed to go through that to really appreciate what I took away from this experience. This camp taught me to appreciate suffering in a positive way, to learn from losses and see the glass as half full instead of half empty. We tend to put so much focus on the wrong things while they're suffering, like sports, idols and other distractions to avoid suffering so much. I was guilty of that just like so many other people."
How will you apply your experience to your senior year at Tulane?
"On and off the court, I think I can share my experience and the messages with my teammates and coaches and how I can be a leader for others. I think it's going to help me take full advantage of my final year at Tulane."
What will you do with the rest of your time this summer?
"I'm going to Barcelona, Spain to spend time with my family. I'm applying for an internship in human resources, and I am very close to getting it. I really want the working experience because I'm planning ahead. I've been talking to Coach (Maria Brito) as well because I want to see if it's a possibility for me to be a coach one day."
"I spoke to Kayla Manuirirangi on our women's basketball team, as she's a very good friend of mine. She's very involved with Athletes in Action. I was going through a really tough time in my life, personally, and Kayla introduced me to this amazing community of athletes that supports one another. I went into it after being told I would grow my faith and become more mature as a person and an athlete. After signing up and going through all of the events, I knew I was truly meant to be there."
Who else was there with you?
"There were groups of student-athletes from Missouri, Michigan State, Brown and Yale among others. I wasn't the only one from Tulane. Kayla, Lexie Douglas, Amanda Giardina, Jarrod Franklin and Randy Harvey were there, too."
What kinds of activities did you participate in?
"In the first few days of camp, we learned the Five Principles. They're questions for yourself and the first one is 'who or what do you play for?' That could be God, yourself, your teammates or anything like that. The second one is 'what motivates me?' which could be winning or losing, followed by 'how do I grow?' What I took from that was how I was emphasizing things in my life such as wins or losses being a part of my identity. They taught me that I'm not supposed to do that because my worth is not based on my successes. The final two are 'how do I deal with pain?' and 'victory beyond competition.'
What was the most challenging part of the experience?
"One of the most important parts of the camp was applying the principles in something they call S.P.E.C.I.A.L. It's 24-straight hours of training and it's the hardest thing I've ever done because it pushed my body to the limit. It's the hard times that I had to rely on someone bigger than myself. In this case, it was God and working with my teammates who I had to rely on to help me make it through."
What did you learn?
"I learned that I wasn't dealing with suffering and loss in a positive way. Suffering is part of life and it made the fall (semester) really difficult for me. I think I needed to go through that to really appreciate what I took away from this experience. This camp taught me to appreciate suffering in a positive way, to learn from losses and see the glass as half full instead of half empty. We tend to put so much focus on the wrong things while they're suffering, like sports, idols and other distractions to avoid suffering so much. I was guilty of that just like so many other people."
How will you apply your experience to your senior year at Tulane?
"On and off the court, I think I can share my experience and the messages with my teammates and coaches and how I can be a leader for others. I think it's going to help me take full advantage of my final year at Tulane."
What will you do with the rest of your time this summer?
"I'm going to Barcelona, Spain to spend time with my family. I'm applying for an internship in human resources, and I am very close to getting it. I really want the working experience because I'm planning ahead. I've been talking to Coach (Maria Brito) as well because I want to see if it's a possibility for me to be a coach one day."
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
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