Contact: Ava Yurchison, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302
(written by Amber Willis, Student Sports Information Assistant)

Oct. 24, 2016- North Central College senior, Kelsey Forkin, started playing tennis at the age of ten. She laughs thinking back to her earliest memory playing; learning how to hit a forehand. Forkin says you have to step in and hit the ball for this move, so her teacher told her to step in and "kill the spider".
 
At such a young age, this analogy freaked her out and she began to cry, leaving the lesson early and refrained from playing for a few years. This is something that Forkin still finds funny due to her deathly fear of worms still to this day.

Due to inspiration from her older sister and great grandfather who were also tennis players, Forkin decided to give tennis another shot and at the age of 12, she began getting involved in fun but still competitive team tennis. 

Forkin says her sister is the reason she still plays tennis. "She's 10 years older than me and we're really close," explains Forkin. "We have a lot of the same personality traits and I think I've watched her grow up, my entire life I've always looked up to whatever she did and I think that's the main reason why I play tennis, was to be like her".

Further, the strong bonds Forkin has with her parents and two older siblings hold a valuable place in her heart. This athletic family loves the chance to support Forkin on and off the court. Therefore, when it came time to decide what college was the best fit for her, it was not too strenuous of a decision to make. The 30-minute trip from home to North Central's campus was perfect.

"Me and my parents are really close and I do a lot with them, so I love that they come out and watch," says Forkin.

The strong family ties Forkin has created throughout her life are not the only factors that have brought Forkin to where she is today. Another extremely significant individual that has played a very large role in Forkin's life, helping her decide what her path for the future should be, has been North Central College pre-professional health program coordinator and advisor, Margery Dagenhart.

"The faculty here is so supportive and just helped me through it and Margery Dagenhart just kind of helped me focus my changes," explains Forkin. "She helped me understand that I had to shadow a bunch for all of the things I wanted to do. So, I'm really thankful for her because she really helped me narrow down what I wanted to do and now I'm really happy with what I've decided. I can't believe I did it!"

Originally, Forkin came to North Central interested in Athletic Training and was interested in becoming a Physical Therapist. "I've jumped majors a lot, but they're all in like the same general area," Forkin explains.

From the beginning, Forkin knew that she wanted to pursue a career in the healthcare industry, though, the exact area she was not as sure of. After taking several of the courses offered here at North Central, Forkin found her direction.

Forkin switched from multiple areas within the healthcare field including physical therapy and occupational therapy before  finally settling on nursing.
 
Once again Forkin's sister has played a large role in her life, shaping not only her career in tennis, but in her occupation as well. "She's a nurse and now I'm going into nursing, so I think a lot of what I decide to do is based on trying to be like her and be as fun-loving and caring as she is" Forkin smiles.

Forkin has made the final decision to focus her major in psychology with a neuroscience minor going for nursing. She is hoping to get into Rush University for their nursing program.

Moreover, Forkin's experience here has been enriched due to being on a team and a significant part of this experience has been taking on a leadership role.

"Ya know it's a small team, so I've been pretty fortunate, not that it's easy to be a leader of a small team, but it's easier to have people rally around you if it's a smaller team; there's less people to compete with your leadership, I guess!" Forkin laughs.

Forkin has been a four-year member of the North Central College women's tennis team and was recently named North Central College's all-time record winner at different postitions for women's tennis.

Forkin's experience at North Central has also been greatly impacted by the essential factor of friendship."Those are the people you're with so much of the time that you just end up being really close friends with them and that's where I got the majority of my best friends from this school. That really shaped my whole experience because I did everything with them and they made it fun to be here."

Forkin expresses that these friendships are the main reason she not only enjoys, but appreciates playing tennis. "Tennis is a very frustrating sport, so it's not really the sport itself that I love so much. But being on a team, with people that I love to be with, I think is what I'm gonna miss," admits Forkin. "Spending time with everyone and just being a part of the team is just something that I'm gonna miss."

Overall, Forkin's experience and foundation here at North Central has truly been shaped by her involvement and association to the women's tennis team. She admits she does not regret being a student-athlete for a second. It keeps her on track and forces her to stay motivated and be successful in both her academics and athletics.

"It's just become a large part of my identity here at North Central, and I would not change it," expresses Forkin.

The North Central's Women's tennis team concluded their fall season with a record of 6-6.