Senior Spotlight: Janet Surma, Penn State New Kensington
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: Janet Surma
Campus: New Kensington
Primary Sport: Volleyball
Primary Position(s): Outside Hitter & Middle Back
Hometown: Lower Burrell
High School: Burrell High School
Major: Communications/Journalism
Academic Achievements: The President's Freshman Award, PSUAC Academic All-Conference (3), USCAA National All-Academic (2), Communications College Academic Award, Literary Award, Dean's List (Fall 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020; Spring 2018,2019,2020, 3.92 Cumulative GPA
How did your Penn State education prepare you for life after graduation? PSNK has given me skills, tools, knowledge and confidence that I will use in life after I graduate. The small class sizes were terrific for one-on-one work with professors. They always made sure I knew what was going on, and because of that, I was able to work harder and really understand my assignments. By gaining these better understandings from their dedication, I feel more knowledgeable than ever.
How do you hope to be remembered by teammates and coaches? As I leave Penn State and my volleyball career behind, I hope my teammates and coaches remember me as someone who just wanted to have fun. Yes, I was serious about the sport, but what got me through all seasons at PSNK and what kept me happy during them all was the fun. There's not many games or practices where I wasn't bouncing around, so getting to do that with teammates who are my friends and coaches who were just as funny was great.
What is your favorite memory from playing your sport at Penn State? During the first half of our 2019 season, the team struggled to find a good balance between us all. It showed in a lot of different ways, but a trip to University Park for a two-day tournament changed all of that. It was the best we played so far that season, the whole team became extremely close and getting to have a giant sleepover in our hotel was priceless.
What is the best advice you ever received from a coach or teammate that you would share with other student-athletes? Coach Dave would always tell the team to have fun. Even when he wasn't vocally stating that, he made sure that what we were doing at practice or before a game captured that idea. It helped ease tons of pressure off me throughout the years playing for PSNK, especially during a game that wasn't going to great. It's very easy to be hard on yourself and down yourself with a small mess up, but Coach Dave's ideal of just have fun made me a more confident player, because I knew that as long as I was trying my best, I was doing my best.
What are you most looking forward to post graduation? Or in your transition to University Park (or other campus) to finish your degree? After graduation, I'm most looking forward to figuring out what path in life I want to go down. I have worked on so many different aspects of journalism writing, and finally figuring out what I love the most will be extremely rewarding.
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? Communication and working together are the keys to volleyball. If the team isn't constantly doing these two things, winning can see very far away. The same goes for the workforce. Talking to others and collaborating with others can get any job done efficiently. Although it might seem easy to do tasks on your own and work by yourself, the effectiveness of communicating with others and togetherness is undeniable.
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? Being a student-athlete has given me many, many opportunities at PSNK. It's allowed me to become part of groups and clubs on campus including the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Because of my involvement in volleyball and knowing the athletic staff, I was able to become a sports writer for PSNK's athletics website. Athletics also gave me the chance to continue playing the sport I love, travel all over the state and make friends who I've stuck with throughout all four years of college. Outside of athletics, my favorite college memory is becoming Editor-in-Chief of the Nittany Pride News, PSNK's student-run news outlet.
Please use this space to thank anyone you wish to acknowledge for their support during your academic and athletic career. I'd really like to thank my mom, dad, Louie and Audrey for always seeing me as a hard worker throughout my athletic and academic career. Even when I thought I had a bad game or was worried about not getting a 4.0, you all knew it was going to be okay and that I'd bounce back the next game and ace my assignments. Seeing you all in the stands at my games was the best. I'm going to miss looking at you after every play waiting for a thumbs up or a head shake, like what the heck are you doing?? To my mom: You don't have to worry anymore about me getting hurt at practice! And you won't have to wash my knee pads anymore, I know that was your favorite (not). Also, thank you for always thinking I'm such a smarty. To my dad: Calling me Jdog will never get old, you've always kept my volleyball nickname alive. Thanks for spiking volleyballs at me for years.. I do believe it paid off!!! Louie, thank you for being my go-to after every game to reassure me I did a good job and for practicing with me for 10 years in the driveway. Also, thanks for helping me with my difficult homework, you always know the answers. Audrey, thank you for buying me stuffed animals when I get upset about school or work. I love it. Alec, you have never ever stopped supporting/motivating/guiding me and I cannot thank you enough for all you do, because it's a ton. Thank you for coming to all of my games, too. You think I'm the best player in the world (you better!), and I'm going to miss playing in front of you. Coach Dave, the first time I ever played volleyball was at a PSNK volleyball camp during the summer when I was just a kid. I never told you this, but you taught me how to play, and 10 years later I never stopped. Coach Megan, I'm so happy you came to PSNK when you did. This school and athletics needed you. You have told me things throughout the years that have stuck with me and are words I won't ever forget. All encouragement. Dr. Aima, thank you for trusting me with the Nittany Pride News and teaching me everything I know about writing. It has so far gotten me extremely far. Dr. Larson, you have helped me numerous times throughout my time at PSNK, but recently with senior research, you gave me encouragement that I really needed. The project really boosted my work ethic and confidence dealing with difficult tasks.