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Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications is one of the best communication programs in the country. The opportunities afforded to students feel limitless, and your accomplishments there follow you well into your future.

If you were to turn on the TV to any given news channel, there’s a good chance one of the people on air went to SU. As a student-athlete studying broadcast journalism, there isn’t a better place for me to pursue higher education.

But because of athletic demand, Newhouse can feel inaccessible for me. Taking on a full course load in any major, at any school, is going to present its own set of difficult-to-reach standards. Being so prestigious, though, Newhouse feels like a whole different ballgame.

Last year, when I went to my peer advisor, my group was all student-athletes who enrolled in the Newhouse broadcast journalism program. Two others sat next to me. I can only guess as to why this is, but when people ask what major they should do as an athlete, the answer is rarely in Newhouse.

It isn’t the class difficulty that makes things the most stressful for me. Really, it ends up being all the external strains that come with it. I worry about managing my time, my sleep and making my time at SU worthwhile overall. This doesn’t even consider spending enough time with my friends and continuing to build my relationships from home.

I don’t enjoy feeling like I need to schedule out when to call my parents or hang out with friends. I know this is a universal experience in college, not just for athletes, but balancing two pillars of SU takes its toll. It feels like I have no time to breathe, and that grinds me down.

I don’t think classes should be built for athletes because that isn’t a simple or even a fair solution, but to optimize your time at Newhouse as an athlete, you’ll fight an uphill battle. With many group projects taking place outside of class, it often feels hard to help the group. Whether it’s organizing late-night shoots or only having one available time to conduct interviews.

My day is booked from start to finish, beginning with classes from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., then going straight to practice and using all of my time after that to finish up homework and prioritize sleep. This doesn’t even include time to myself, time with friends or even time for clubs and activities, not to mention that my season is year-round.

I understand this narrative can seem very “woe-is-me,” and that maybe I should’ve understood what I was getting into when attending one of the best schools for my major. While I’ve highlighted a lot of struggles I am facing, I do love everything that I get to do here.

The truth is this isn’t just a Newhouse thing.

Juggling both a full-time sport and academic obligations makes anyone feel like a social or relaxing schedule is impossible. At the end of the day, I came to SU to get an education and leave with a degree. Many of my peers have shared my experience of late nights working for student organizations or perfecting a project in pursuit of the very same thing.

I’ve been able to successfully complete a year at Newhouse so far, so it isn’t impossible to do. Many before me have also done it. But, as I get older, the question of how to make choices that will allow me to consciously enjoy the life I’m building for myself gets more daunting.

I think about graduating and going into the never-ending newsroom cycle. Then, I’ll look back on my college experience and realize I wasn’t present for any of it. If I can’t take time for myself now, I want to be able to take time for myself in the future.

Still, I wouldn’t trade the experience that I get at SU as a student-athlete for anything. I love to run more than anything, and I get to study in one of the top journalism programs in the country.

I just want to be sure to prioritize myself outside of my schedule, and a good way to do this would be capitalizing on what each day already is. Since I don’t have practice on Sunday, I make Sunday a super easy day. I want to take that time to relax and decompress.

I don’t want to burn out and completely tire myself of things I do genuinely love just because it can be stressful at times. Instead, I can find ways to better manage my time and make intentional efforts to prioritize personal time. That way, when I do grow old, I can carry these new habits with me and always make the balanced choice.

Drew Zundell is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. He can be reached at djzundel@syr.edu.

Published on September 4, 2025 at 12:13 am