Abby Scott is an Outstanding Scholar and plays on the Lancers women's volleyball team (FILE/University of Windsor)
By Kate Hargreaves
When Abby Scott joined the Outstanding Scholars program, she was not expecting to be listed as first author on a book chapter before she finished her undergrad.
The fourth-year sport management and leadership student didn’t even know what Outstanding Scholars was until she was invited to enrol in the program during her second year as a student-athlete on the women’s volleyball team.
“That’s where most of my time goes,” she explains. “To volleyball as well as school.”
Scott, who wears number 14 and plays right side on the volleyball team, started playing the sport in the fourth grade and at the competitive club level in grade seven.
The love of volleyball runs in Scott’s family as her older sister, cousins and father all played at various levels.
While her initial interest in sports was as a competitive swimmer, she switched to the court in the seventh grade and hasn’t looked back.
“Volleyball was my biggest passion,” she says of her high school experience, which she graduated as senior athlete of the year.
When she looked at university options, volleyball had to be a priority.
“I figured I’d try to find a way to include school and volleyball in the same place,” Scott says.
Abby Scott wears number 14 on the Lancers women's volleyball team (FILE/University of Windsor)
Hailing from Acton, Ont., a small town about a half-hour outside of Guelph in the Halton Region, Scott only learned about Windsor when it came time to pursue her degree and athletic career.
After her first year in the sport management program, she was contacted about joining Outstanding Scholars and turned to her coach and professors for advice.
“Is it worth it? Will I have time?” she asked.
As she was already working with professor and Kinesiology department head Jess Dixon on some research projects, continuing that work as an Outstanding Scholar only seemed logical.
As holding an outside job is difficult while trying to balance sport and school, Scott appreciated the paid research assistant opportunity that Outstanding Scholars afforded.
Working with Dr. Dixon, Scott has since researched the role of alumni advisory boards on sport management program pedagogy and was able to publish a first-authored book chapter on the subject, a rare achievement for an undergraduate student.
“People are going to cite my name,” she says. “Scott et al. That part was really cool.”
Scott has also participated in conferences, including the North American Society for Sport Management in both Minneapolis and San Diego, presenting work on alumni advisory board influence as well as a second research project with Dixon about relative age effects in youth hockey.
“It’s definitely intimidating being the youngest at the conference,” she says, explaining how others were surprised to see an undergraduate doing the kind of research work she was presenting.
Studying hockey as a volleyball player may seem like an unusual choice, but Scott says working outside her main sport has its benefits.
“It’s almost better to work in a sport you might not know much about and learn about it,” she says. “Then you’re able to come with a fresh perspective.”
Abby Scott worked with Dr. Jess Dixon on a project studying relative age effects in youth hockey (FILE/University of Windsor)
As for her volleyball career, Scott is eligible for one more year of play in USPORTS and plans to apply for her Master’s in Sport Management and Leadership.
After that, she has thought about coaching at the club level or focusing on a PhD with the goal of teaching sport management.
However, at the moment Scott is focused on taking things one step at a time with her master’s application and this year’s volleyball season.
While that may sound like a lot to balance alongside Outstanding Scholars research and finishing up her undergrad, Scott still encourages other varsity athletes to get involved with the program.
“It’s going to feel like a lot at first,” she says. “But once you get the hang of it, if you’re with the same professor, they get to know how you run, you get to know how they run, so you build that relationship.”
“I want to highlight for student athletes that you can do it even on top of the other stuff you’ve got going on. If you have the right professor, the right advisor, you can make it worth it.”
To learn more about Outstanding Scholars, visit the program’s website.
This article is part of a series celebrating Outstanding Scholars—exceptional students making an impact through research and creative work across campus.