Student-Athlete Spotlight: Alex Parker, Alpine Skiing

"I was about 2 or 3 years old when I started skiing," says Alex Parker, UAA alpine skier, who is now 20 years old.

Parker grew up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with her parents and younger sister. "My family is very athletic, and we were always outdoors," she said. Parker says it was her parents who made her understand the importance of enjoying what you do. "They taught me that you have to have fun in life no matter what it is, whether it is sports, school or work. You have to enjoy life, and all the things in it."

Growing up, Parker was a dedicated skier who immediately developed a love for the sport. By the time Parker was 17 years old, she made the Canadian Alpine Olympic Development team. While on this team, she traveled all over the globe-from Chile to Europe-spending a lot of her time watching other skiers.

Parker saw the dedication and time the skiers devoted to improve their skiing and ultimately move them toward the Olympics. "I saw how much heart and soul they put into the sport, and I thought that's what I wanted to do, too. I love the sport, and I never wanted to stop loving it. These skiers had to give up their education, and it seemed like they didn't care about the sacrifices they had to make, like I did. I didn't want to give up my education for skiing. I love skiing, but what if I got hurt? It was just too much to give up, and it could all fall away so quickly. So, I decided to slow down and focus on my education."

Not long after that, she started looking at colleges. Parker learned about UAA's skiing program, and decided to make a visit to the campus. "I met Sparky Anderson, the Seawolf alpine coach, and I liked the way he ran things. It seemed like the best option for me."

Parker entered UAA as a freshman in 2009, where she became one of the most decorated UAA freshman skiers posting six first-place finishes-the most for a UAA freshman ever and the most for a Seawolf since 2005. She also qualified for the NCAAs where she captured two All-American honors-placing fourth in giant slalom and seventh in slalom. She received Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association's (RMISA) All-Conference First Team honors and was selected as RMISA's Women's Alpine MVP after posting the most wins in conference. She helped the women's alpine team capture the regional title and received MVP at UAA's end-of-the-year banquet, while also being nominated for UAA Athlete of the Year.

This dedicated skier is not only committed to her sport but to her education as well. Parker is a psychology major and wants to get her Ph.D. "I'm taking 15 credits this semester, and we practice five days a week." She laughs, "When we practice, we don't always have the best weather conditions. Sometimes it's so cold and along with the process of putting on all of our gear you would think it would make us not want to get out there and ski some days. But for me, I enjoy it so much, I don't ever think of it as something I don't want to get up and do."

Parker says the sport has taught her the importance of time management and teamwork. "We have 14 races a year that count for NCAA, but we have a total of nearly 40 races yearly. It's a lot of time and dedication, but the thing I enjoy is that it's not always about your sport-you have to take care of your schoolwork, too. Education is important to me. The coaches and staff at UAA also stress that importance to us student-athletes."

Parker is not slowing down. This year Parker earned Second Team All-America honors at the 2010 NCAA Ski Championships. This is her third career All-America honor. Parker was one of nine UAA women skiers to receive All-Academic honors. She skied to third place in the women's giant slalom and fifth in the slalom at the RMISA Championships on Feb. 26-27. She was also named skier of the week at RMISA championships for the second time in her career. Parker is currently a sophomore.