She Can Do It All

By Isabella Dale

The van swerves violently through traffic as the University of the Cumberlands’ tennis team journey across state lines to an away game in Dalton, Georgia. One hour behind schedule, speeding, and nonchalantly eating a McDonald’s cheeseburger with one hand, the driver has thrown care for the speed limit out the window. As of now, they just need to get there.

Each team member can be seen asleep, feeling knackered and unenthused about the task ahead, except for one blonde-haired, hazel-eyed girl sitting up the front. With a laptop balancing on the tips of her knees, textbook in hand, and a pink marker between her lips, Erin Hart fights the restraints of a moving vehicle to study for an upcoming Biology exam.

Her teammates no longer dare ask what makes her tick with such motivation and discipline. The truth is, no one can keep up.

Credits: Erin Hart

“I always believe in using the time that you have wisely,” she says with a smile. For someone who studies an hour before 8:00 a.m. classes everyday, she claims her magic potion is in her morning coffees. “Without the coffees, I would definitely not have survived undergrad,” she says. 

Hart, a 22 year-old modern southern belle from Corbin, Kentucky, has big dreams, dreams she hopes can one day save numerous lives. As a senior at UC majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry, her plan after pharmacy school is to work at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a centre dedicated to caring for youngsters with terminal illnesses in Memphis, Tennessee. 

“She is going to thrive there one day,” says her best-friend and roommate of four years, Victoria Sissom. “Erin is the type of person that when she finds something that brings our the excitement in her, she doesn’t rest until whatever that is, is done perfectly.”

Hart’s studies don’t end at UC’s graduation in 10 weeks. She has been accepted into the University of Kentucky’s Pharmacy School which, according to her, is one of the best in the nation for the field of medicine, after which she plans to apply for a position at St. Jude.

Her everyday agenda is hectic to say the least, having a college schedule equivalent of an Indonesian traffic jam: full and extremely inflexible. Hart’s peers worry for her, questioning her capabilities of upholding a 4.0 GPA, which she claims she had to work very hard for, as well as consistently maintaining the 4th position on the UC women’s tennis team for four consecutive years and being the vice president of the Gamma Sigma Epsilon, a chemistry honours society.

“I have been concerned about her work load in the past,” says Kaylyn Collette, a junior and teammate of Hart’s at UC, “but she’s proven all of us wrong so many times because she’s someone who handles pressure and stress so well. I’ve made an effort to learn from her.” 

Hart’s positive aura and the constant motivation to keep performing well both in the classroom and on the tennis court have become an inspiration to many of the upcoming players on her team. 

“Erin is like the mother of the group,” says head coach Chin Tan. “I can always count on her to support me in bringing up a great team. She has contributed so much to UC tennis these past four years, and it will be hard to replace her.”

As they pull into their destination, Hart is the first player off the van. She leads the team’s ritual warm-up, as an upperclassman, and is in charge of preparing water bottles and energy bars for matches. She readies herself by entering the court with her shoes tied and hair pulled back, a sign that announces she means business. One thing is for sure, Erin Hart is a force to be reckoned with, a young lady with a big future.