University Southern California Trojans
Stevens Center Academic Spotlight: Nikki Leonard
August 31, 2017 | Women's Volleyball, Student-Athlete Academic Services, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
USC's student-athletes are more than just champions on the field, court, diamond and pool -- they're champions in the classroom as well. Each week, we will get to know one of these scholarly Trojans a bit better in our academic spotlight.
Name: Nikki Leonard
Class: Senior
Sport: Women's Volleyball
Major: Business Administration
Aubrey Kragen (AK): When did you realize you were interested in studying business?
Nikki Leonard (NL): There actually was a specific moment. When I was a freshman, I came in thinking, 'I'm so good at math and science. Let's be an engineer.' So freshman year at Gonzaga, I spent my first two semesters studying engineering -- and did not do so well. In my physics class, I realized that I had more fun putting my planner together, than I did attempting to do math problems. So I told my counselor that I really like organizing and putting things together and managing things, and she said 'That kind of sounds like business.' I guess it makes sense -- my mom runs her own business, kind of. She's a realty agent, but she has her own firm, so she's like her own boss. So that's kind of how I found out, and I've loved it ever since.
AK: How would you describe your transition from Gonzaga to USC? Did being on a team and having tutors help you at all?
NL: It definitely did, because people on my team are business as well, and they had taken some of the classes that I have to take. They were able to help me with that and tell me, 'This teacher's going to be best if you want help, this teacher's going to be best if you struggle with this certain thing.' The tutoring I definitely utilized because I didn't know what was going to come of the classes -- you think you know one thing, but at a different school it's completely different.
AK: When you were coming out of high school, what made you choose Gonzaga, and when you decided to transfer, what made USC an attractive option?
NL: During club season in high school, we always had a qualifier for the Junior Olympics in Spokane, so we visited there once a year and one time we played against one of the coaches' club team in their gym, so I got to look at their campus. Come recruiting time, I sent a mass email and I heard back from Gonzaga, and they invited me to their camp and I enjoyed the campus and the city. So I was like, 'Alright, let's go there.' When I was transferring, I was looking for somewhere that was more competitive with volleyball, because if I was going to transfer, I wanted volleyball to be my focus. And I didn't think that an increase in academics would also come with that. When USC showed interest, I had a few other options, but it was really the academic piece that brought me here. Some of my other options were in places that I couldn't picture myself, so those connections would probably only be around where they are. This was closer to home and the best level of volleyball I could find.
AK: Since you've gotten here, what have been some of your favorite classes?
NL: Pretty much all of my business classes. I really enjoyed my Marketing class -- that was the first time I'd ever taken one. And it was a lot of speaking, which I enjoy -- I don't mind public speaking -- but it took me to a different level in knowing what specific things you need to talk about in order to make people think a certain way about what you're saying.
AK: You mentioned that it was your love of organizing that made you realize you wanted to major in business. Has that organizational skill helped you succeed as a student-athlete with so much on your plate?
NL: Oh, definitely. If I didn't have a planner, my life would be in shambles. My planner is my prized possession, and whether or not it's as pretty as other people's planners, I love putting it together and I love making a study guide and a study schedule. Whether I follow it exactly how I want is a different story. But managing my time and finding priorities in classes, I really enjoy that. That aspect of business -- the management -- is the aspect I want to do in a business. I want to stay with a sports organization hopefully, so I'd like to manage their calendars, in a perfect world.
AK: What steps have you taken towards your dream job?
NL: I do have one connection -- our nutritionist, Becci, also works for the Angels. And I'm really into baseball, so I wanted to intern for the Angels. It was my goal this past summer, but I had to take summer school, so that kind of sat on the backburner. But next summer, I'm hoping to get an internship and hoping to use that connection with her to intern for the Angels. If not, I'm open to any other place, but I really want to stay in sports if I can. My family is entirely into baseball -- that's where I grew up and my brothers are into it too. But I'm open to other sports, too.
AK: You mentioned your mom was her own boss. Has she given you advice, or what have you learned from her that's made you want to follow in those footsteps?
NL: She didn't have her own business until I was a little bit through high school. And that's when she started managing her own schedule. Working for yourself, you can take time off whenever you need it, so she wasn't able to make it to a lot of my brothers' functions, but when it came to me, she was at everything. So that was really nice. She told me how that helped her and how happy she was that she got to do that for me and sad she was for not being able to do that for my brothers since she didn't have the flexibility yet. That made me realize that when I do have a family, when I do have kids, I want to be able to control my own schedule but still work, so I can still go to their events.
Name: Nikki LeonardClass: Senior
Sport: Women's Volleyball
Major: Business Administration
Aubrey Kragen (AK): When did you realize you were interested in studying business?
Nikki Leonard (NL): There actually was a specific moment. When I was a freshman, I came in thinking, 'I'm so good at math and science. Let's be an engineer.' So freshman year at Gonzaga, I spent my first two semesters studying engineering -- and did not do so well. In my physics class, I realized that I had more fun putting my planner together, than I did attempting to do math problems. So I told my counselor that I really like organizing and putting things together and managing things, and she said 'That kind of sounds like business.' I guess it makes sense -- my mom runs her own business, kind of. She's a realty agent, but she has her own firm, so she's like her own boss. So that's kind of how I found out, and I've loved it ever since.
AK: How would you describe your transition from Gonzaga to USC? Did being on a team and having tutors help you at all?
NL: It definitely did, because people on my team are business as well, and they had taken some of the classes that I have to take. They were able to help me with that and tell me, 'This teacher's going to be best if you want help, this teacher's going to be best if you struggle with this certain thing.' The tutoring I definitely utilized because I didn't know what was going to come of the classes -- you think you know one thing, but at a different school it's completely different.
AK: When you were coming out of high school, what made you choose Gonzaga, and when you decided to transfer, what made USC an attractive option?
NL: During club season in high school, we always had a qualifier for the Junior Olympics in Spokane, so we visited there once a year and one time we played against one of the coaches' club team in their gym, so I got to look at their campus. Come recruiting time, I sent a mass email and I heard back from Gonzaga, and they invited me to their camp and I enjoyed the campus and the city. So I was like, 'Alright, let's go there.' When I was transferring, I was looking for somewhere that was more competitive with volleyball, because if I was going to transfer, I wanted volleyball to be my focus. And I didn't think that an increase in academics would also come with that. When USC showed interest, I had a few other options, but it was really the academic piece that brought me here. Some of my other options were in places that I couldn't picture myself, so those connections would probably only be around where they are. This was closer to home and the best level of volleyball I could find.
AK: Since you've gotten here, what have been some of your favorite classes?
NL: Pretty much all of my business classes. I really enjoyed my Marketing class -- that was the first time I'd ever taken one. And it was a lot of speaking, which I enjoy -- I don't mind public speaking -- but it took me to a different level in knowing what specific things you need to talk about in order to make people think a certain way about what you're saying.
AK: You mentioned that it was your love of organizing that made you realize you wanted to major in business. Has that organizational skill helped you succeed as a student-athlete with so much on your plate?
NL: Oh, definitely. If I didn't have a planner, my life would be in shambles. My planner is my prized possession, and whether or not it's as pretty as other people's planners, I love putting it together and I love making a study guide and a study schedule. Whether I follow it exactly how I want is a different story. But managing my time and finding priorities in classes, I really enjoy that. That aspect of business -- the management -- is the aspect I want to do in a business. I want to stay with a sports organization hopefully, so I'd like to manage their calendars, in a perfect world.
AK: What steps have you taken towards your dream job?
NL: I do have one connection -- our nutritionist, Becci, also works for the Angels. And I'm really into baseball, so I wanted to intern for the Angels. It was my goal this past summer, but I had to take summer school, so that kind of sat on the backburner. But next summer, I'm hoping to get an internship and hoping to use that connection with her to intern for the Angels. If not, I'm open to any other place, but I really want to stay in sports if I can. My family is entirely into baseball -- that's where I grew up and my brothers are into it too. But I'm open to other sports, too.
AK: You mentioned your mom was her own boss. Has she given you advice, or what have you learned from her that's made you want to follow in those footsteps?
NL: She didn't have her own business until I was a little bit through high school. And that's when she started managing her own schedule. Working for yourself, you can take time off whenever you need it, so she wasn't able to make it to a lot of my brothers' functions, but when it came to me, she was at everything. So that was really nice. She told me how that helped her and how happy she was that she got to do that for me and sad she was for not being able to do that for my brothers since she didn't have the flexibility yet. That made me realize that when I do have a family, when I do have kids, I want to be able to control my own schedule but still work, so I can still go to their events.
Players Mentioned
DS
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