Impact Of A Scholarship: Sara Gustafson

When Sara Gustafson was being recruited, she wanted to go to school outside of her home state and eventually chose to become an Indiana Hoosier.

After just one season in Bloomington, Gustafson knew it was time to return home.

As a young player in Reisterstown, Maryland, she played in the Maryland Olympic Development Program with coach Shannon Cirovski. When Cirovski was named head coach at Maryland after Gustafson’s first year at Indiana, she made the decision to come home to play for the coach she grew up with at the University of Maryland.

“I knew when Shannon got the job, that was my answer,” Gustafson said. “I was like ‘I want to go to Maryland, I want to be there and I love Shannon as a coach. This is just like the stars aligned.”

From the second she arrived on campus for a visit, she knew she belonged in College Park. During her visit she hung out with some future teammates in the dorm rooms and felt welcome. It felt like home.

“Maryland is where I needed to be. It’s where I wanted to play, whether I was on scholarship or I wasn't on a scholarship,” Gustafson recalls her thoughts after her visit to Maryland. “I wanted to come to Maryland, and that was that. I wanted to put that jersey on. It didn't matter, I just wanted to play there. It was home.”

In her first season with the Terps she started all 22 games and finished fourth on the team in goals scored. As a junior, in her second season in College Park, Gustafson led the Terps in goals with nine. 

But, to Gustafson, soccer wasn’t the only thing she found a passion for at Maryland.

Gustafson is now a health and physical education high school teacher in Loudoun County, Virginia, something she never thought she’d find love for.

“Never in a million years would I have thought I ever wanted to work with kids, let alone teach them for seven hours a day. And I owe it all to the Maryland soccer camps and Shannon Cirovski,” Gustafson said.

During her first year at Maryland, Cirovski asked her to work at a Maryland soccer camp. Gustafson was charged with coaching some of the youngest group of campers.

“My face dropped and I almost passed out,” Gustafson said. “But after the first week, I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

Gustafson elected to work every camp that summer and was able to meet coaches from other schools. She even got her coaching license and started to work for Maryland’s Olympic Development Program and one of Virginia’s youth soccer leagues.

“It gave me the opportunity to learn so much more about soccer -- but from a coaching standpoint -- and learn about the game. It really helped me on the field too,” Gustafson said.

Today, Gustafson is a NASM certified personal trainer and instructor and she teaches students in her school that are interested in personal training. She also works closely with the social and emotional learning team at her school.

This year is going to look a lot different for Gustafson as she will have to do online physical education classes for her students, trying to keep them, and herself, engaged while in front of a computer screen.

Loudon County has announced a plan for the academic school year that has Gustafson teaching live physical education classes that mirror a typical school day.

“We're high school health and physical education, so I will be doing live physical education classes. We had to figure out a way that I have enough energy while teaching live class four times a day with the kids, so we have to be pretty creative with it,” Gustafson said.

Gustafson thinks it is going to be very difficult for her to sit in front of a computer screen for long hours everyday, but she is ready for the challenge.

Not only is she ready, Gustafson believes her students will be resilient and get used to it sooner than later and she is ready to help them with that transition.

Gustafson is able to get a nice break from teaching during the summers. She resides in North Carolina during the summer and works at The Crab Pot, a restaurant in Surf City owned by her best friends, Kelly and Brian.

“It seems a little bit crazy but it's really really fun,” she said. “It's a great island town and I've met some absolutely amazing people.”

If it wasn’t for her scholarship to Maryland, Gustafson doesn’t know what her life would be like today.

She doesn’t think she would have been able to attend the University of Maryland due to financial reasons if she didn’t have a scholarship.

“The first benefit of the scholarship was actually being able to attend the school,” Gustafson said. “The second main benefit was the social networking and the people you meet. It all comes back around, everything is very cyclical and very fluid.

“Every single person I've met from the University of Maryland has been able to help in some way and everyone's able to give back in some way at some point, whether it’s giving money or spending time volunteering.”

Gustafson lives by the saying “Once a Terp, Always a Terp” and believes most former student-athletes do too. She thinks none of her future was possible without the help of donors.

“I want to thank them for everything they do for all of the student-athletes. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been able to wear that jersey or do the things I've been able to do after graduating.” Gustafson said. 

“Once I got there, I knew it was the place for me, and I had so many opportunities and it was the greatest thing for me. I'm so proud to say I played at Maryland, and I am a Maryland student-athlete.”

Gustafson framed her No. 22 jersey right near the front door in her home, proudly wears Maryland soccer clothing and formerly had a license plate that said “Terp 22.” 

She hopes to be able to give back financially one day, the way donors gave her the opportunity to live out her dreams and her future.

“Playing at Maryland was probably the single most important decision that I had ever made.”