The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
The A team: Karen Haight
11.14.2006 | Soccer
She is a soccer ball-kicking, Business Honors-studying, grilled cheese sandwich-making, world hunger-fighting, burnt orange-bleeding student-athlete at The University of Texas, and the aforementioned descriptions are only a few of the adjectives that qualify senior defender Karen Haight.
Hailing from Beaverton, Ore., this girl from the Northwest was looking for a challenge when selecting her institution for higher learning and collegiate athletics.
"Part of why I came to Texas was because I was looking for something completely new and different," Haight acknowledged. "Academics were very important to me, and when I combined that with having the chance to play for a National Championship with a program like Texas, I knew this was the place for me."
A true scholar in the classroom, Haight has her fair share of academic accolades from high school. She was distinguished as a National Merit Commended Scholar and carries handfuls of other local, state and national scholar-athlete awards. This academic prowess, in part, granted her admission to the prestigious Business Honors Program (BHP) at UT.
BHP is one of the most selective programs at The University, admitting, on average, only about 20% of its applicants who traditionally rank in the top 2% of their high school graduating class. Additionally, its graduates are consistently some of the most sought after young professionals by the world's top corporations.
Amidst this challenging degree plan, Haight's academic success did not come to a halt once she began college. While on the Forty Acres, Haight has garnered plenty of awards to add to her resume. She has been on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll every semester and has received many other academic recognitions, including ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VI in 2005 and '06, third-team NSCAA Scholar All-South Region in 2005 and first-team Academic All-Big 12 from 2004-06.
Accompanying the difficult curriculum, an internship is one of the requirements for BHP, and when it came time for Haight to log her hours as an intern, she decided to venture to the East Coast as an intern in New York City.
On a finance-specific track within BHP, Haight interned for 10 weeks this past summer at Goldman Sachs, one of the leading investment banking, securities and investment management firms in the world. Aside from her internship interview in the Big Apple last spring, Haight had never before been to New York. She arrived last summer knowing no one and left the state two-and-a-half months later with many great friends, memories and experiences.
During the internship, she did a lot of job shadowing and soaked up as much as she could, asking many questions to better assess what it would be like to work in an environment like that full-time.
"I learned a lot about myself," Haight remembered. "Looking back on the experience, I grew so much as a person that summer and it really put me in a better place with more confidence in my own abilities."
The city itself was a highlight of Haight's time in New York.
"I really loved how stimulating the city was," Haight said. "Since I was only there for such a short amount of time, it was important to me to try to do something every weekend, which was rather easy since there is always something to do."
Back in Austin, Haight is an important component of her Texas soccer team, who hosts Portland from her home state of Oregon in the round of 16 of the 2006 NCAA Championship on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. So far on the year, Haight has appeared in 22 of her squad's 24 games, having a consistent presence on the Longhorns' backline.
"In general, soccer teaches you discipline and how to work well with other people," Haight remarked. "I have met so many great people through the sport, and I have loved being part of an organization that has a common goal between people.
"Also, when dealing with the ups and downs of a season, I have learned to step back and look at what is important and what isn't. When things aren't going well, you can ask, 'What can I do to make things better?' or when things are going well, just take the time to appreciate all the hard work that went into the success. Those are some of the things that I have benefited from and will take with me in the future."
Even with all of her academic and athletic accomplishments at Texas, Haight desired more.
"I have taken so much from this University," Haight admitted, "and I've gotten so much out of my time here, and I really thought I needed to do something to give back."
So in her spare time wedged between early morning practices and weights, a full course load and plenty of away game travel, Haight has found time to volunteer with a campus organization whose common goal is to help end world hunger.
Feel Good (feelgoodworld.org) is an organization started in 2004 by two former University of Texas cross country runners. From noon-2 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the organization's members set up in a small green tent on UT's West Mall and make grilled cheese sandwiches for a suggested $2 donation. All money raised is donated to The Hunger Project and Millennium Promise, organizations dedicated to ending world hunger and poverty.
"We have bread donated by Whole Foods, and then we buy a variety of cheeses and condiments like tomatoes, ranch and marinara sauce," Haight explained. "We grill the sandwiches on our George Foreman grill. I really like it because we are trying to end world hunger, especially through empowering women who, in third world countries, are very much in charge of daily life and preparing food. The organizations, we are donating all of our proceeds to, teach them ways to farm and how to have a more sustainable means of feeding people."
Feel Good is now a national non-profit organization that is growing, having a presence on more than 10 college and university campuses nationwide.
For these young people, their goal is to help end world hunger by the year 2025. Call it lofty, but they are on their way.
When Haight gets her diploma next May, she will have accomplished much, both on and off the field. She says that she has taken so much from The University of Texas, but as is evident, she has also given so much back.
When it comes to her future career, she has "really tried to step back and ask, 'Okay, what do I want in a job?' I want something creative, interactive and people-oriented."
"Part of me wants to move to Europe and do something random for a year, just to clear my head and try to figure out what kind of career I would like to have," Haight said. "But I may end up in Chicago, Boston or New York City again."
Though her specific plans are uncertain, wherever she goes and whatever she decides to do, Haight will make a difference and achieve much. This well-rounded student-athlete's hard work and dedication to so many different goals and causes has made the Longhorn Nation proud. There is no uncertainty about that.
