Laura Starman is keeping busy her senior year. Right now, she is setting up interviews for optometry schools all over the country, planning a wedding, and completing the last few courses in her college career.

Laura is a senior and she is originally from the small town of Elgin, Nebraska. She originally came to Mount Marty as a rad tech major, switching to biology and pre-optometry her sophomore year. The volleyball team was ecstatic about this; Starman would be here to play for four years rather than just two years.

Being a collegiate student-athlete is a difficult task, but Laura raises that bar to an even higher level. She has maintained a 3.9 GPA and been named to the Dean’s List every semester while being a varsity starter on the volleyball team the last three years.

Starman was named Newcomer of the Year for the volleyball team in 2004. In 2005 and 2006, she was awarded the Pflieger-Olson award back to back. In the 2006 season, she was named an GPAC All-Conference Honorable Mention and an NAIA All-American Scholar Athlete.

“Laura applies herself 100% to everything she does, whether it is in the classroom or on the volleyball court. She is a very hard worker and a top notch person to be around,” volleyball coach Tracey Grotenhuis elaborated.

The lone senior on the team this year, she is the kind of leader the volleyball team needed.

“She has struggled [through] injuries over the last three years, but she always manages to keep a very positive attitude and contribute to the team in any way possible,” Coach Grotenuis added.

Besides being active in volleyball, Starman has also been involved with the Bio-Chem Club, Campus Ministries, and Intramurals. She was an Ambassador his junior year and was one of the pioneers of the honors program here at Mount Marty.

As if she is not busy enough, she also works at Exact Eye Care in Yankton and is a tutor at the Center for Academic Excellence.

Summing up her college experience, Laura says, “Mount Marty has prepared me for grad school and provided me with a great educational background. I’ve experienced so many great things, and some of my best memories will be... of the friends I’ve made here."