Chippewa Valley Times

Each week during the 2023-24 academic year, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) is highlighting two student-athletes from its eight institutions in a "Student-Athlete Spotlight" Q&A segment. The segments are released every Thursday, with individuals chosen by their respective institutions. Culver's sponsors these spotlights.

This week's feature is on Emma Sather, a junior at UW-Eau Claire, majoring in Exercise Science with a minor in Coaching. She hails from Chetek, Wisconsin, and plays softball for her university.

Sather shared her reasons for choosing UW-Eau Claire: "I grew up not too far away from Eau Claire, so I was very familiar with the area and the success of not only the institution itself but of the softball team as well. I knew that my priorities were to have a school that cared for their students academically and athletically."

Reflecting on her experience as an NCAA Division III student-athlete in the WIAC, Sather said: "Being a NCAA Division III student-athlete means everything to me. The talent and hard work that everyone at this school and in this conference put in every single day is inspiring."

Among her personal favorites, Sather enjoys Culver's Crazy for Cookie Dough flavor and cheese curds. Her favorite non-athletic spot on campus is the library, while she lists "Goonies" as her favorite movie and Christmas as her favorite holiday.

Her greatest sports moment was achieving her first collegiate win as a Blugold. Off the field, she enjoys spending time with teammates doing various activities like watching movies or attending other sporting events.

When asked about someone she looks up to, Sather mentioned her parents. Her advice to younger athletes is: "Don't take this time for granted. College goes by so fast! Work hard while you can."

Sather describes herself as determined and dreams of becoming an Athletic Trainer. Her bucket list includes fishing in Alaska, watching the Olympics in person, and visiting Greece.

She also shared a unique talent: making a water droplet noise with her mouth. As for pre-game rituals, she has superstitions about hairstyles and breakfast routines when it comes to game days.