Romeoville, Ill. – People often talk about the work/life balance required to be a student-athlete. Not only do they have the normal coursework of a regular student, they also have 20 hours a week of sport activities as well. In some cases, athletes might also have a job or be involved in an additional extracurricular activity.
However, few can match what 2026 Lewis University graduate Katharine Svehla (Elmhurst, Ill./York) has done throughout her collegiate career. The All-Great Lakes Valley Conference bowler and captain was also involved in the following activities:
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Jet Fuel Review: Lewis University's nationally recognized literary journal (Managing Editor, Prose Editor, Art & Design Editor, Layout Editor, Blogger)
For anyone who has spent time on a production staff, those deadlines alone are like an extra job. Just imagine making a Thursday evening production deadline and then traveling five hours to get a few hours of sleep to wake up and compete at 9 a.m. the next morning in a different time zone? Not only did Svehla do that, she also managed to perform at an All-Conference level while doing so over four years.
"I personally have always loved the grind and staying busy," Svehla said. "I learned at a young age to always say yes at every opportunity that came my way and to just figure out how to make it work. There were times when I was admittedly overwhelmed, especially since I was raised with the mindset that if I am going to do something, I should do it right and well. There were plenty of late nights where I stayed up until 3 a.m. to complete coursework that I did not have time to do due to my commitments, or times where I had to give up my social life to complete an assignment, but I found it to be worth it."
Keeping track of everything she had to do while maintaining a high level of play was no easy task in itself, but Svehla was able to figure that process out as well.
"To manage my intense workload, I utilized a very strategic organizational system that consisted of two planners and a dry-erase calendar," she said. "The first planner tracked my academic courses and standard assignments. The second was dedicated entirely to my role in Jet Fuel Review, which allowed me to manage the rigorous editorial demands to ensure the journal published on schedule. Finally, the dry-erase calendar helped me keep track of monthly events occurring throughout the semester, including those for classes, Jet Fuel, the Writing Center, and Bowling."
Despite the grind of publishing, it was still what Svehla enjoyed the most outside of bowling.
"I absolutely adored being part of Jet Fuel Review (JFR) as it was an incredibly rewarding experience that offered new challenges each semester," she said. "I collaborated with and led a team of editors to review over 900 international submissions of prose, poetry, and art per issue. This provided a unique opportunity for me to hold a leadership role, gain practical experience in marketing, layout design, and interpersonal communication. Beyond this professional growth, I gained some of my closest friends and developed into a well-rounded professional eager to continue my growth as an individual."
Between bowling, editing and more, it would make sense that Svehla's grades would suffer at some point. However, that was not the case. She concluded her career with a 4.0 GPA in her final semester and earned the Gold Medallion Delahanty Award, in addition to graduating Magna Cum Laude.
She also concluded her career fourth on the all-time list for both total pins (63,491) and frames bowled (3,509).
"It was not easy and required a lot of sacrifices and discipline," she said. "But the most important factor was the love I had for everything I was involved in. From competing alongside my teammates to reading submissions for JFR and conducting consultations for the Writing Center, I found the exhaustion to feel worth it. Achieving a 4.0 in my final semester and receiving Magna Cum Laude at graduation required treating my time like a finite asset in my success. I maximized every moment by utilizing travel hours to the team's next competition as a study hall and reviewing notes while waiting for the editorial meetings to begin. These experiences taught me that when you love the grind, your capacity to achieve goes far beyond what you could have possibly imagined."
Now she will take her experiences with her to the next part of her life, where she will be pursuing a masters in publishing and writing at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She hopes that will lead her to become an editorial director for a major publisher in her future. All of the time and effort she has put in throughout her collegiate career will only help her reach her goals.
"Each role I served transformed me from a student into a young professional," Svehla said. "These experiences compelled me to manage a heavy workload, collaborate across different departments, and deliver high-quality results on a strict deadline. I used my voice as a leader, learned how to market creative work, and understood how to manage diverse teams. This journey created a solid foundation that gives me the confidence and resilience to succeed in a highly competitive creative career."
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