Elliott 1

Kaylee Elliott

Professor Isabel Garcia

English 134

11 February 2023

Adapt and Change

Imagine taking the responsibility of being in control of over 20 people's schedules, while

balancing a family, and packing up everything you are used to and moving across the country. Commented [GMC1]: Great into that hooks the readers
in!
Adapting to an unfamiliar environment can be difficult and adding on the stress of lofty

expectations can be even harder. You may be thinking what kind of career that could be. This is

the career of my track and field coach, Michelle Chewens, coming from University of

Mississippi to San Luis Obispo, California. Controlling collegiate athletes takes a lot and

requires adjustment. As we get to know Michelle, we see her upbringing and how she has

impacted athletes at the collegiate level. Commented [GMC2]: I like how this introduces what you
will talk about in the next paragraphs.

As Michelle grew up, she always played sports. “I always was in a sport growing up. My mom

put me in basketball, swim, and softball’ (Chewens). She ended up running track and field in

high school and loved it. Going into college, she was unsure what she wanted to do after college,

but she was majoring in nutrition at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro hoping to do

something with physical therapy or nutrition. “In my free time I was volunteer coaching at my

Alma mater and ended up getting hired full time and then I realized my passion was coaching

instead of nutrition and physical therapy’’ (Chewens). During this conversation, she said she felt

like she knew it was the right decision to become a coach. As her career progressed Michelle

eventually became the women’s cross country and track and field coach at the University of
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Mississippi. During her 7 years there, she won the team 4 conference championships alongside

her husband who was the men's team coach.

When Michelle and her husband were both offered a job at University of California Polytechnic, Commented [GMC3]: Make sure to use the "Tab" button
here to indent the first sentence to match MLA format
San louis obispo after head coach of track and field, Mark Conover passed away, they knew the

potential on the team as well as how much they were going to have to adapt to an unfamiliar

environment. Packing up all her things and leaving her friends behind was strenuous, but she had

goals for her soon to be new team and knew this was a desirable choice. She recognized the good

schooling and work ethics from the program, which drew her in even more. The Cal Poly

women’s team had not won Conference Championships in years, and Michelle’s goal was to

change that. “I knew that this was a very good academic school, and I knew that the team has

some history of success, but my goal was to come in and gain consistency with winning and

becoming more of a team” (Chewens). And that is what she did. She brought the team together

with practices, team bonding, and creating schedules and workouts specifically drawn out for the

individual. With just one season with Michelle, she led the girls' team to a conference Commented [GMC4]: You can rewrite this as "In one
season, Michelle…"
championship. She has and is continuing to make changes at universities Commented [GMC5]: Maybe conclude this paragraph
like this: It seamed like everywhere she went, she made
positive change to those around her."
Being a coach at the college level, there are duties and management that are necessary to be

“good.’’ Being constantly available for people isn't easy along with the pressure to keep track of

everyone's fitness, as everyone starts at distinct levels. Michelle creates workouts for each person

every day. She keeps in mind those that are injured, those who are not in their best shape yet, and

recent performances by athletes when Michelle is doing their workouts. For example, if one of

the girls just came back from an injury, she is going to make their work out a lot different than

someone who has been running for 4 months straight. “It is sometimes gets overwhelming, but as

much as I am working, I know that the girls are working just as hard’’(Chewens). Michelle keeps
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in mind the challenging work that also goes into being a student athlete and she acknowledges

the struggles that come along with that. Michelle states stays organized by keeping every one of

the girls' spreadsheets filled out with their workouts weekly.

` While Michelle has had a good reputation for helping athletes make progress in their

fitness and win championships, she is beginning to do the same with the program at Cal Poly.

She has shown resilience and accommodated with what she has, while keeping a positive attitude

and words towards her athletes.

Image by Paul

J Sutton of Athletes on the track starting their race in a large pack. Commented [GMC6]: Make sure to center the caption
right under the image.

In this image there are clearly runners on a starting line. The runners are just starting their race

and there is a huge crowd in the background. It is a blurry imagine but this image represents how

chaotic this sport can be at some times. Additionally, it shows everyone coming together to
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compete, in which it takes not just one athlete, but their support system, other competitors, and of

course coaches. Commented [GMC7]: Great way to tie the image to your
profile about Chewens.

Finishing this project, I would not say I have changed, yet I am thankful to have interviewed

Michelle. Realizing the changes, she has gone through as well as making is inspirational, and I

hope to one day make a change that can affect others in a decent way. Change is important in life

and can be interpreted in so many ways. Commented [GMC8]: Reflection:

This was a great profile! You stated the change very clearly;
that Chewens changed to a new coaching position and in
doing that also changed the Cal Poly woman's running
program. You also added great quotes and paraphrases
from Chewens to back up the credibility of your profile.
Lastly, you chose a great image and did a great analysis of it
that ties in well with your profile.

One suggestion I would add is to include a personal

experience where Chewen's coaching affected you and how
that contributes to the change that she is making to you as
an athlete or the entire woman's team.
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Final Reflection

1. At first, I was unsure where to start this project. I had no idea who i would want to

interview. I thought of my roommate or my mom, but eventually thought of people who

have gone through change and my coach came to mind. My initial thoughts about this

project were that it was going to be something I did not want to do, but when I went to do

my interview, I started to get excited about the project. My understanding of interviewing

changed due to having to produce my own questions and just ask open ended questions,

as usually i would put input.

2. I was hoping that my profile would make an impact on the reader and realize that change

can come in many forms. I would hope that they could gain inspiration on change and

becoming a type of change

3. It helped me achieve it because I had to analyze the interview and pick the best responses

that flowed with the writing. Something that I could have used was how to interview or

some better questions to ask during the interview.

4. The strongest part of my essay was giving background knowledge of my person. My

weakest part of my essay was the introduction, as I was stuck on where and how to start

it. If I could revise my essay, I would spend some more time brainstorming the

introduction.
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Works Cited

Elliott, Kaylee. “Interview with Michelle Chewens.’’ 2 February 2023

Runners at the track image www.greatbigcanvas.com