Senior Spotlight: Noel Kaufman, Penn State Schuylkill
Welcome to our Senior Spotlight series. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the PSUAC had to cancel its fall and winter sport seasons. This prevented several student-athletes from receiving a proper senior day and minimized opportunities for Player of the Week awards. In its place, we will highlight seniors from around the conference throughout the remainder of the semester.
See more Senior Spotlight highlights on our Twitter (@psuac) and Instagram (psuac)!
Name: Noel Kaufman
Campus: Schuylkill
Primary Sport: Volleyball
Primary Position(s): Outside Hitter
Hometown: Barnesville, PA
High School: Mahanoy Area
Major: Business Management
Academic Achievements: 2017 PSUAC Academic All Conference; 2018 PSUAC Academic All Conference & USCAA National All-Academic Award; 2019 USCAA D2 National All Academic & PSUAC Academic All Conference
Athletic Achievements: 2019 PSUAC East 1st Team; PSUAC All Conference Award; PSUAC Offensive Player of the Week; 3x Player of the game; USCAA D2 Honorable Mention All-American; NAIA All-Conference 2nd team
How did your Penn State education prepare you for life after graduation? Penn State helped me academically to find an internship and provided all of the courses I needed to succeed in the business world. Penn state has also helped shape me to be a well rounded individual.
How do you hope to be remembered by teammates and coaches? I hope to be remembered as a leader and a positive influence. Someone who was able to make everyone better not just on but off the court as well.
What is your favorite memory from playing your sport at Penn State? My favorite memory would have to be turning the volleyball program around at Schuylkill: beating Brandywine at home 3-0 for the first time, winning the conference division and then making it to playoffs.
What is the best advice you ever received from a coach or teammate that you would share with other student-athletes? My high school coach, Chris Fallabel always told me: you have to make your teammates better first and then you follow. Once you play as a team; you can make yourself better as an individual.
What are you most looking forward to post graduation? Or in your transition to University Park (or other campus) to finish your degree? I am looking forward to finally being able to hang things up and accept a coaching position. I had turned down 3 positions in hope that I would be able to play my last season. I also look forward to accepting a job with my degree.
What are some of the tools or skills that you learned through all the years of playing your sport that you plan to instill once you enter the workforce? One huge skill I learned is patience, this came over time. Not everything is going to be perfect from the start, sometimes you have to sit back and wait for things to turn around.
What impact did athletics have on your experience as a college student? What is your favorite memory outside of athletics during your time as a student-athlete? Athletics helped me find some of my best friends, Shout out to Lexi Bowser, Reese Erbe, Chloe Readinger and Alexis Breslin. Some of my favorite memories outside of athletics would be spending the weekend with Bres and her roommates.
Please use this space to thank anyone you wish to acknowledge for their support during your academic and athletic career. I would like to thank my entire family for being my support system through my many years of playing; through the injuries, the losing and winning seasons. I would like to thank my dad for pushing me to the best of my ability and telling me to always give 110% on and off the court since I was little. A huge thank you to trainer Kate for getting me through all of my injuries and taking the time to research something she was not sure of! I probably would not have survived last season without her.