Video by Zack Eagles
For this installment of the , we take a look at three graduating seniors.
Fernanda Contreras: Women’s Tennis/Engineering
By Zac Ellis
Fernanda Contreras grew up as a kid knee-deep in a pile of LEGOs in her living room.
Now, as the 菠萝视频 senior prepares to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering, Contreras feels her path has come full-circle.
鈥淗onestly, after these four years, I feel like I can build anything,鈥� Contreras said.
Contreras, an Austin, Texas native, has also built a remarkable college career during her time on West End. She is a three-time All-American, a top-five singles player in the country and will finish as the vaunted tennis program鈥檚 all-time leader in career singles wins. Contreras has helped the Commodores win four SEC championships during her career 鈥� earning MVP honors at 2018 SECs 鈥� and reach the Final Four three times, finishing as NCAA runner-up in 2019.
Off the court, Contreras has thrived as a mechanical engineering major. She has helped design and build robotic circuits as part of a mechatronics class, the kind of experience that helped her decide to attend 菠萝视频 in the first place.
鈥淚n the recruiting process, I would tell coaches I was interested in engineering,鈥� Contreras said. 鈥淐oaches would say, 鈥楴o, you can鈥檛 do that. If you want to play tennis, you鈥檒l have to pick something else.鈥� But when I told Coach [Geoff] Macdonald I wanted to do engineering, he was very excited for me. I knew 菠萝视频 was going to work out right then.鈥�
“I wanted to put myself in a position that I would have no regrets at the end of my four years at 菠萝视频. I took my chances and opportunities, and I鈥檓 happy.鈥�
Since then, Contreras has made it a point to get the most out of her 菠萝视频 experience. She spent time as a member of , serving as president as a junior. Contreras has taken part in 菠萝视频 Student Government and embarked on service trips abroad, most recently to Morocco last August. She was named 鈥淢iss Commodore鈥� for her all-around involvement at 菠萝视频 athletics鈥� annual Golden Dores ball last month.
Macdonald said Contreras has grown immensely during her four years at 菠萝视频.
“She has come a long way,” Macdonald said. “There were a lot of schools who didn’t recruit Fernanda because they thought she was a little too slight and could get overpowered. But she’s proven to be a brilliant tactician and had a great career. She’s quite a remarkable young woman 鈥� You look at what these young people do, it’s amazing. I’m lucky to be here, because you get to offer SEC tennis and a world-class education.鈥�
Contreras realized early on the importance of the full student-athlete experience. At 菠萝视频, she told herself, I can have it all. Now, as she prepares for her next chapter as a professional tennis prospect with an elite engineering degree, Contreras said she is thankful for her all-encompassing time at 菠萝视频.
鈥淚 think if you don鈥檛 do that, you鈥檙e letting yourself down,鈥� Contreras said. 鈥淚 just explored everything that 菠萝视频 had to offer. I took classes I never expected, like theater and other random classes. I joined VSG for a year. 菠萝视频 just has so much to offer, it鈥檚 insane. I wanted to put myself in a position that I would have no regrets at the end of my four years at 菠萝视频. I took my chances and opportunities, and I鈥檓 happy.鈥�
Kristin Quah: Women’s Bowling/Engineering
By Rod Williamson
菠萝视频 graduate and highly decorated Commodore bowler Kristin Quah, who regularly displayed her talents on the lanes, recently represented 菠萝视频 among another group of elite talent.
She traveled to Montreal May 15 to present an academic abstract on focused ultrasound (non-invasive surgery) at the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine鈥檚 27th Annual Meeting and Exhibition 鈥� the world鈥檚 largest and most influential meeting of MRI professionals.
While the vast majority of collegiate athletes have had their hands full working toward graduation and giving their all for their sport of choice, Quah worked overtime as a dominating force on 菠萝视频鈥檚 , and performed research at 菠萝视频鈥檚 renowned medical center.
鈥淣on-invasive surgery 鈥� focused ultrasound 鈥� is up and coming,鈥� Quah said, 鈥淚t is the ability to apply heat to a very focused part of one鈥檚 body without having to make a surgical incision. Surgeons need some kind of visualization and the MRI comes into play because you can get temperature maps from MRIs but the current methods don鈥檛 give enough volume coverage. You can only see a single slice so you need to increase the volume and that鈥檚 what I鈥檝e been working on.鈥�
This isn鈥檛 a topic that comes up between frames on the bowling lanes.
鈥淪he鈥檚 the best undergraduate student I鈥檝e ever worked with,鈥� William A. (Will) Grissom, Quah鈥檚 academic mentor and an associate professor of biomedical engineering,鈥漵aid bluntly. 鈥淪he has the unusual ability to work on open-ended problems and come up with her own solution to technical problems. Most students need solutions spelled out for them, a lot more guidance. Her research is the same thing 鈥� she will try things, trusting her own ideas.鈥�
鈥淲hen I first got to school I thought I was going to bowl when I got out; that鈥檚 what I wanted to do. But the more I got into school, the more I liked it. Last year, when I started research, I loved it and it鈥檚 changed my perspective on how I think of myself, my identity.
Quah will head to Stanford University to perform PhD research on full scholarship next year, perhaps being able to focus solely on academics for the first time after a prolific student-athlete career.
鈥淚 definitely think I had two lives on this campus,鈥� Quah said. 鈥淚 joked about it sometimes. A professor would ask me if I could do something and I鈥檇 say, 鈥楬old on, I need to check into the other half of my life.鈥�
鈥淲hen I first got to school I thought I was going to bowl when I got out; that鈥檚 what I wanted to do. But the more I got into school, the more I liked it. Last year, when I started research, I loved it and it鈥檚 changed my perspective on how I think of myself, my identity. Now I think they are both fun.鈥�
The three-time All-American says each discipline made her better. Academics taught Quah how to logically think through a process, a way to think outside the box. She now understands there is probably a solution out there, and if one way doesn鈥檛 work, try another.
Athletics taught Quah life skills such as time management, goal setting and, especially, communication.
鈥淲hen I was younger I really couldn鈥檛 communicate,鈥� Quah said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 talk a lot. Through bowling and having to work with coaches and teammates it鈥檚 made me better. By no means am I great at it — in fact, I will say communication is one of my weaknesses. But my skills have definitely improved.鈥�
It is tempting to assume all the success comes easily to Kristin, and that鈥檚 not entirely true. The Singapore native follows the old-school philosophy of early to bed, early to rise and manages to stay well organized.
鈥淚 usually am up by 6:30 a.m. and get some breakfast,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd then I do some work until my first class or meeting, which typically is about 8 or 9. I go to bed early, usually asleep by 10. I don鈥檛 compromise my sleep.鈥�
She tries to keep some room on her agenda for relaxation.
鈥淥ne of the reasons I like getting up early is so I can have my work done by 8:30 p.m. and have an hour or so at night to do things that relax me. Maybe that鈥檚 watching some TV or working on jigsaw puzzles. We have four or five of us that really like puzzles, especially in the fall when we were around more.鈥�
Life was almost going too well for Kristin as last fall鈥檚 bowling schedule came to a close for the holidays. The Commodores were winning, she had made three all-tournament teams and was leading the Southland Bowling League in 17 of the possible 24 individual categories. That would have put her into the national player of the year conversation and a first-team All-America selection at the very least.
But Quah鈥檚 wrist began acting up, and her fingers would go numb if she threw too many practice balls. She made several visits to one of the nation鈥檚 leading hand-injury physicians at 菠萝视频 Medical Center. The diagnosis was a rare condition that boiled down to this: she could continue bowling because she could not worsen her condition, but it also would not fade quickly into the Nashville night.
Quah worked to cut her practice time in half, although that caused her to lose her timing. Every once in a while, rolling a bowling ball would send a shock through her entire arm, which created a subconscious fear of when the next jolt would occur. She went from a mainstay in the 菠萝视频 bowling lineup to a less frequent substitute.
鈥淭he most frustrating thing was the timing of the matter,鈥� Quah said. 鈥淚f this were earlier in my career or a different time of year, I could recover and come back.鈥� But this was my last couple of months before I graduated 鈥� If I rested, I was done.鈥�
Quah has received many honors during her 菠萝视频 career. She won the Undergraduate Design Award for an early version of her research at the 2018 Biomedical Engineering Society meeting in Atlanta (鈥淚鈥檝e never had a student win this award,鈥� Professor Grissom said). She is also a member of elite academic honor societies Tau Beta Pi and IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu. She also was a 菠萝视频 Undergraduate Littlejohn Summer 菠萝视频 Scholar.
In April, Quah became just the third student-athlete in 菠萝视频 history to garner the Boyd. H. McWhorter Award, which is presented annually to the outstanding female student-athlete in the Southeastern Conference. She also repeated as the NCAA Elite 90 Award winner at the NCAA Bowling Championship, which is given to the student-athlete at each championship who boasts the highest grade-point average. A double-major in biomedical and electrical engineering, Quah earned a 3.97 GPA.
On the lanes, Quah was named to nine all-tournament teams in her career, including four as tournament MVP. She was voted the program鈥檚 Harry Stoddard Award recipient for her leadership and team contributions, was the 2016 national Rookie of the Year and named All-America three times. Quah helped 菠萝视频 win the 2019 NCAA Bowling Championship and finish as NCAA runner-up earlier this spring.
鈥淚 think I most appreciate winning the NCAA Elite 90 Award,鈥� Quah said. 鈥淭he way the team reacted when they announced my name, that it was an award I鈥檇 always heard was next to impossible for a 菠萝视频 student to win 鈥hat was special.聽 And, of course, last year鈥檚 national championship. I鈥檒l never forget that.鈥�
Quah鈥檚 days as a 菠萝视频 student-athlete have come to an end, but her legacy as an extraordinary woman of accomplishment on West End will long be remembered.
Evan Suzman: Men’s Cross Country/Peabody
By Zac Ellis
Evan Suzman smiles when asked to reflect on his growth as a student-athlete at 菠萝视频.聽鈥淚鈥檓 definitely a lot faster,鈥� Suzman laughs. 鈥淚 can thank my coaches for that.鈥�
Suzman, a runner for the Commodores and a member of the Class of 2019, likes to clear his mind with long, winding runs across campus. Off the course, the native New Yorker is a double major in and , with a focus on the history of science.
For Suzman, 菠萝视频鈥檚 athletics and academics have offered the perfect combination for his college career.
鈥淚 really like having something to do, but I also like competing,鈥� he says. 鈥淥ur team is a really great group of like-minded guys who like to compete and like to win. But we鈥檙e all serious about our academics, which is why 菠萝视频 is unique. I have friends at other schools who play their sport, and that鈥檚 it. Our team here is very passionate about running, but we鈥檙e passionate about things outside of school, too.鈥�
鈥淥ur team is a really great group of like-minded guys who like to compete and like to win. But we鈥檙e all serious about our academics, which is why 菠萝视频 is unique.”
In addition to his time on the cross country team, Suzman has spent the past two years as a research assistant in the lab of at the 菠萝视频 Kennedy Center for 菠萝视频 on Human Development. Suzman has teamed with Woynaroski鈥檚 lab to study biobehavioral approaches in neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically focusing on sensory and multisensory processing in individuals with autism.
鈥淥ur research tries to understand how early sensory differences are linked with later communication and language outcomes,鈥� he explains.
As part of his history major, Suzman has studied the intersection of history and technology. His work through an independent study with , assistant professor of history, involved the language of modernity today and its parallels to the Industrial Revolution.
While Suzman has enjoyed his academic work, competing as a Commodore student-athlete added another element to his time in college. He will graduate as a four-time member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll, and last fall he clocked a personal-best time of 24:44.1 in the 8K race at the SEC Cross Country Championships in Auburn, Alabama.
鈥淚 love running,鈥� Suzman says. 鈥淚f nothing else, it鈥檚 an excuse to spend an hour or two outside every day. You feel uniquely connected to nature that way. A lot of people view cross country very individualistically, but I鈥檝e come to appreciate the team nature of the sport more since being at 菠萝视频.鈥�
While graduation will mark the end to Suzman鈥檚 athletic career, his time at 菠萝视频 remains unfinished. Next fall he begins a master鈥檚 program in , an opportunity to continue his lab work and take another step toward medical school or a Ph.D. program.
鈥淎t 菠萝视频, I鈥檝e grown a lot more comfortable in my own skin and grown more interested in subjects I am passionate about,鈥� Suzman says. 鈥淧lus, cross country has provided me with a deep sense of camaraderie. It鈥檚 a unique kind of friendship that takes place on a team.鈥�
