Result of the LAIR Fund: Erin O'Grady

Leadership can be defined in many different ways. The dictionary refers to it as “an act or instance of leading; guidance; direction.” Another definition would simply be Erin O’Grady, a student-athlete at Eastern Illinois University. 

O’Grady is on the cross country and track teams at Eastern and is obtaining a Spanish major with a teacher’s certification. In her future, she hopes to be a track and cross country coach, very fitting considering teachers and coaches are considered leaders in everyday life. 

O’Grady has always felt like a leader and it shows to anyone that knows her. She has a passion for helping and wants to be a role model for her teammates and others at EIU.

“I work hard at practice every single day and get my stuff done, because the other girls on my team need a good example in order to continue doing the work themselves once my time here is done,” said O’Grady. 

Her teammates also know that if they have a problem or need advice, O’Grady is always willing to listen. “From day one I always let my team know that they can feel comfortable coming to me, and that I’ll do whatever I can to help them out,” said O’Grady. 

O’Grady doesn’t channel all of her leadership into one thing and she hopes that her younger teammates can see that.

“It’s important to me that my younger teammates understand that it’s not all about training hard in sports. They need to take that mentality with then when it comes to school work, getting involved in the university and what they’re doing in their free time while representing our athletic program at Eastern,” said O’Grady.

She would know, as she as a laundry list of other activities she does on campus. To name a few, she’s on the Intercollegiate Athletic Board, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, the Ohio Valley Student Athlete Advisory Committee and the Respect for Youth Organization. 

On top of all that she is a tutor for other student athletes, primarily in Spanish but in English as well. She also helps younger students with their study habits and gives new ideas on retaining information to help with exams. 

All of her leadership roles will only make her a better teacher when she is in control of a classroom and her own team. O’Grady thinks many coaches don’t realize the role they have in others lives, but she aims to remember that her role as a teacher and a coach plays a big role to those around her.

“My coaches have taught me that they influence their athletes way more than they even realize. I want to make sure that when I'm in a coaching role, that I know that my input is very important to my athletes, and that my opinion matters,” O’Grady said. 

“I want to pay close attention to each of my runners and understand that each person is different and might need a different training plan than one of their teammates. If I help each runner develop individually, then they'll be able to trust me and use their training in order to better themselves and really improve.”

O’Grady has made an impact with her coaches, especially Geoff Masanet, the head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach. Masanet described her in one word: awesome.

“I will miss her terribly when she is graduated and gone,” Masanet said. “She is a strong team leader for our programs and a great example of a student-athlete. She is a people person and her thoughts are always on others rather than herself. Erin is a good person and that is the best I think anybody can strive to become.”

O’Grady has learned from her teachers and her coaches here at Eastern and will definitely apply those lessons in her classroom. When her time at Eastern comes to an end in May she’ll go from running on the track to running a classroom – teaching her students to not only be better athletes and students, but better people as well.