(Editor's note: Wise was just named the 2016 Distinguished Senior for Chemical & Biological Engineering)
Senior Clare Wise is accustomed to making fresh tracks.
Wise, a chemical and biological engineering major from Wenatchee, Wash., competes in slalom and giant slalom events for the University of Colorado ski team.
In October, Wise also became the first chairwoman of the Pac-12’s new Student-Athlete Leadership Team (SALT), where she’ll advocate and vote on matters of importance to the 7,000 student-athletes across the conference.
The Pac-12 is the first major NCAA conference to formally include student-athlete perspectives into its official voting governance structure, the Pac-12 Council.
“Personally, I’m hoping that through the insight that the SALT committee is able to give the Pac-12 and NCAA, we’ll be able to ensure that each student-athlete is successful both in their sport and academically so that they can be successful in their chosen career after college,” Wise said. “Our focus lately has been on optimizing the amount of time student-athletes spend participating in their sport so they can also do well in class and have a social life.”
Wise is intimately aware of the challenges of balancing a rigorous degree with Division I athletics.
In season, Wise skis five days a week: Saturdays, Sundays, Thursday evenings and early mornings on Wednesday and Friday, when she wakes at 4:45 a.m. to prepare. She also has video review, conditioning and ski work on top of her demanding class schedule.
She even makes time for hobbies. A talented baker, Wise dreams of owning a European-style bakery one day.
Wise is a three-time member of the Division I National All-Academic Ski Team, recognizing those who maintain a cumulative 3.5 GPA and participate in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Championships. She is also president of CU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), which led to her selection for the new Pac-12 group alongside SAAC co-President Connor Winter, a cross-country runner and mechanical engineering major.
“It’s a challenge to balance athletics and academics in season, but I try to budget my time and plan each week so that I know what I have to accomplish and what my goals are,” Wise said.
Striking that balance is a goal familiar to several other student-athletes in Chemical and Biological Engineering. The department’s student-athletes include: Wilson Belk (golf), Kaitlyn Benner (cross country, track and field), Edward Caldwell (football), Madison DeWinter (lacrosse), Sarah Lautman (lacrosse), Nikki Machalek (soccer), Mariah Walker (track and field) and Michaela Wenning (track and field).
Professor David Clough, CU’s faculty athletic representative to the Pac-12, has worked with student-athletes for decades. He described the combination of chemical and biological engineering with college athletics as “one of the most difficult and challenging paths that you can choose.”
“There are a good number of institutions across the country that will say that they just can’t make it work with engineering and athletics,” Clough said. “In fact, they find it remarkable that we have as many student-athletes that are engineers as we do.”
For Wise, being devoted to both academics and athletics provides perspective. When things are tough in one area, she can focus on the other more intently to get through the rough patches.
She also relies on wisdom and support from department members who understand her hectic schedule, including Clough and Senior Instructor Janet deGrazia, who also was a collegiate student-athlete.
Clough, who has known Wise since before she started at CU, said her discipline is what sets her apart from other students. He attended the Pac-12 meeting with her last fall and witnessed her leadership qualities firsthand.
“She’s been a great role model,” he said. “She not only works extremely hard at her sport and at her academic career, but she’s taken on these other dimensions.”
Although Wise’s ski racing career will conclude after this season, she said she hopes to remain involved with athletics by becoming an orthopedic surgeon. She will take the MCAT in June and apply to medical school this summer.
It’s been a whirlwind undergraduate experience for Wise, but she credits her ski team comrades and engineering professors for making it worth the effort.
“I think engineering at CU is really about learning how to work hard, and if you’re doing that, then you’re doing it right and you’ll be successful,” Wise said.