Tori Waschek

Sports Writer

I am an award-winning Journalism student with a strong passion for writing. While at Ramapo College, I have been active in sports and scholarship. I was a member of the Ramapo College Field Hockey Team that won an ECAC Championship in 2021. I have also been named a four time Scholar of Distinction. As a writer for the Ramapo News, I won first place in the sports writing category for the 2021-22 NJPF NJ College News Competition, and I won second place in 2022-23. At The New Jersey Communication Association Conference and Ramapo Scholar's Day I won best student paper.

I have also been involved in several activities and organizations. These activities include serving as the President of the Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society, Vice President of the Ramapo Chapter of The National Society of Leadership and Success, and as a member of the Ramapo College Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society, Ramapo College Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, Golden Key Honor Society and Student Athlete Advisory Committee. Over the past summer, I interned as a reporter at The Coast Star News Group in Manasquan, New Jersey.

Portfolio
Personal
02/16/2023
About my Senior Project Proposal: College Athlete Chronicles

My senior project will be a collection of articles relating to the experience of college athletics. There will be about eight to ten articles ranging from 500-800 words, possibly longer. The purpose of this project is to discuss different topics that arise within college athletics with some input of my own personal experiences and perspectives when it is necessary or works well. It will also include the voice of other athletes and their experiences. The topics of the articles include...

Personal
03/27/2023
Erase the Stigma: College Athletes and Mental Health

Six deaths in a year is too much. One death is even too much. These young student athletes play in college to continue playing the sport they loved as a child, not to face mental battles that make them question if their life is worth living. Every athlete needs to remember they are more than what their sport defines them as on the field.

Personal
11/28/2022
Farewell Field Hockey

It will always be difficult to make others understand how much the sport has meant to me, but it will always have a huge place in my heart, and I am eternally grateful for everything field hockey has given me. No matter how this last week of the postseason ends, either with smiles or tears, life will move on. It is now time to make a life away from the sport I’ve always loved and venture to new horizons.

Personal
04/17/2023
The Danger Behind Excessive Caffeine and College Athletes

The National College Athletic Association (NCAA) is the only organization that restricts the amount of caffeine in an athlete’s system. If there is more than 15mL (6 to 8 cups of coffee) before an event or after and the athlete happens to be drug tested, it will lead to a positive test result for a banned substance. Although caffeine is the most widely accepted and commonly consumed drug in the world, it is a central nervous system stimulant.

Personal
03/20/2023
The goals of youth sports are changing, and not in a good way

Youth sports as we remember provided us with an opportunity to become active by participating and learning. It taught us sportsmanship, gave us the ability to make new friends and the chance to understand life long lessons. However, this has changed. Parents and coaches have taken the fun and excitement out of youth sports and have transformed them into a multibillion-dollar business with the expansion of club teams. This problem has most recently surged in the last 15 years.

Personal
04/10/2023
Title IX has transformed women college sports, but still has a way to go

The year Title IX passed, 2% of college athletic budgets went to women's sports, around 15% of college women participated in sports and colleges, on average, offered 2 women's teams. Those numbers increased dramatically in the following decades. While fewer than 30,000 college women participated in sports in 1981, over 225,000 female athletes competed at the college level in 2021.

Personal
03/13/2023
Weight and Body Image Issues in Female College Athletes

Females are often on the receiving end of comments made about their body by coaches, officials, commentators, fans or even teammates. In a study published by the National Institute of Health, Bailey Tackett and colleagues reported that nearly half of collegiate female athletes were required to participate in regular weigh-ins, meaning that all team members are weighed to ensure that they are staying in an expected weight range.

Personal
04/03/2023
Why Division III?

While most times the answer to the question “Why did you decide to play Division III?” is a joking and light-hearted “because I wasn’t good enough to go DI” there is actually some value to choosing to play Division III sports in college. Arguably, Division III involves the best balance of academics, athletics and extracurricular activities.

Personal
03/06/2023
Student-Athlete or Athlete-Student?

Sports psychologists often say that despite student athletes initially feeling relief in retirement, many still experience depression and other mental health issues for several years after. Experts suggest that college athletes would benefit if they prepare to leave their sport. The less their identity strictly focuses on their sport, the less of a shock the student will feel when the identity expires. For many athletes, the challenge is not just learning how to fit into a new lifestyle, but...

Personal
04/24/2023
How to Survive College Athletics

My freshman year of college as a student athlete was a blindsiding experience. I felt like I was thrown to the wolves and had to figure it all out for myself. Now, as a senior, there have been quite a few things I have learned over the course of four years. Here are some tips for how to survive your college career as a student athlete.