S
ome are elite athletes. Some are excellent students. Some thrive on making an impact in the community. However, there are few that can strike a near-perfect balance between the three components. Katie Loberg not only exemplifies the term, but exceeds its expectations.
Standing at 6-foot-4, Loberg made an immediate impact on the Golden Gopher women’s basketball team upon her arrival in 2009, and concluded her career ranked sixth on the Gophers’ all-time list with 93 blocks, including 33 as a senior. Loberg then made the decision to extend her career as a Minnesota student-athlete by joining the women’s track and field team as a high jumper last spring. Not having competed in the event since high school, Loberg proved there wasn’t any rust to shake off when she placed third at the Big Ten Women’s Track and Field Championships with a jump of 5-8½ and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminaries in Austin, Texas. In the classroom, Loberg maintained at least a 3.0 grade-point average, was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and graduated in May 2013 with a degree in journalism. She is set to return to the University of Minnesota in the fall to further advance her education and continue competing for the Gophers in the high jump. That is just the beginning. Loberg made a point to volunteer and give back to the Twin Cities community, donating more than 200 hours of her time to organizations such as the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota, Feed My Starving Children, Urban Ventures, MN Hands and Voices and Camp Odayin, among others. But, it was in the spring of 2013 that Loberg extended her studentathlete status to a global level with Coach for College, a service learning program that brings together U.S. student-athletes and Vietnamese university students to teach academics, sports and life skills at summer camps to children in rural Vietnam. Formerly an opportunity limited to student-athletes at ACC and Ivy League institutions, Coach for College founder Parker Goyer, a 2007 graduate of Duke University and former Blue Devil women’s tennis player, reached out to Minnesota Director of Athletics Norwood Teague about the possibility of Gopher student-athletes getting involved in the initiative. From there, the idea was brought to Director of Student-Athlete Affairs, Peyton N. Owens III, and it was collectively decided that Minnesota would send five student-athletes to Vietnam. An email blast to the Gophers returned 15 interested responses, including that of Loberg. Following a few initial talks with Owens and
close family and friends, Loberg jumped on board rather quickly. “I didn't need much coercing. Traveling and giving back to the community are two things that I value greatly,” Loberg said. “At the time I applied in February, I was just finishing up the last course in my leadership minor, and we had focused a lot on becoming a global citizen. I had never had the opportunity to study abroad in my four years at Minnesota, so I found this to be a perfect opportunity, especially since it was for something greater than my own education.” Coach for College left the selection process up to Owens and Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Affairs, Anissa Lightner, who both thought that Loberg was a perfect fit for numerous reasons. “I thought that Katie was a really good fit because of her overall involvement here with our community service efforts, her leadership being part of our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), her leadership within her respective sport and the way that she actually just carries herself,” Owens said. “Her commitment toward making sure that we continue to address areas of opportunity for global change and awareness, and our conversations in the past were also factors. And, when she answered the questions with regard to the essays, that really just further drove home the point that, yes, she would be an ideal fit for this.” The planning process for Loberg was extensive, from securing a Visa to coordinating flights into Vietnam to doing research on her own. But, the Princeton, Minn., native wanted to make sure she entered the experience with an open mind. “I researched as much as I could about the history of Vietnam, but I didn't want to know too much going into the experience,” Loberg said. “I wanted to make sure I was going into the community and school with the right intentions; I wasn't there to change or disrespect their culture. I just wanted to be someone the kids could look up to if they wanted, but I also wanted to let them teach me things, as well.” Finally, June 6 arrived. She was set to board the plane at MSP for her 36-hour trek to Da Nang, Vietnam. The trip took her from Minneapolis to New Jersey and she then hopped on a 16-hour flight to Hong Kong. From there, Loberg flew to Ho Chi Minh City, before finally arriving in Da Nang. Once in Da Nang, Loberg was finally able to begin teaching English and coaching volleyball to middle-school children at Tran Quang Khai.