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Ten Questions with Macey Tanseco

Apr 25, 2018 • by Kutztown University
Macey Tanseco

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – During the spring semester, Kutztown University will feature a variety of student-athletes in order to get an inside look on their everyday lives. Articles will not only focus on their athletic performance, but what they do outside of competition. This week’s feature is senior Macey Tanseco from the women’s track and field team.

As a four-year member of the track and field team, Macey has had many accomplishments both in and out of her sport. She believes the key to success is to just relax and have fun with everything she does. She is a seven-time Dean’s List honoree and a three-time PSAC Scholar Athlete. In addition, she finished in the top-10 in the shot put with a new PSAC mark of 41-07.75 at the Colonial Relays on April 7.

How has playing a sport prepared you for the future?

“It actually made me more organized. I had to think about when the deadlines were and if it conflicted with track meets. I had to stay really focused and make sure that I got it done. I think that really helped me with my grades.”

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

“I want to be a book editor. I wanted to be a book editor since I was in sixth grade, so I am attending Rosemont College to earn a masters degree in publishing. I’m an English major with minors in Professional Writing and Woman and Gender Studies. When I’m done with that I’d like to go into either a feminist magazine or a book publisher. After that, I want to own my own feminist press.”

What goals does your team have coming into this season? What are some personal goals?

“Because it’s so individualized, the team, they just want everyone to have fun, do their best, and stay healthy. I have this goal, every year I gain about three feet on my shot-put. The girl who has had the record for our school for about the last eight years, and I am about 14 centimeters away from it, I have to hit a little over 46 feet. I just want to beat it this year.”

Who is your favorite professional athlete and why?

“It’s funny because I actually don’t really like sports. I got into sports for superficial reasons in seventh grade. But if I had to pick someone it would have to be a professional ice skater named Yuzuru Hanyu. He’s Japanese and he’s amazing! Figure skating is probably the only sport that I like to watch. He wasn’t supposed to come to the Olympics this year, but then he got better and won the gold.”

What’s your favorite memory in the past 4 years here at KU?

“One of my favorite professors here, Dr. Herr, invited me to present in Philadelphia. He is the co-editor of the Journal of Dracula Studies along with Dr. Delong here at KU. The journal has been going on since the 90s. He asked if I could be a presenter along with two graduate students and I was honored that he would entrust that to me because having that conference was a pretty big deal for their journal. Then he told me I was going last which was nerve racking because I knew the two students going before me. What we had to do was to analyze one of the articles within one of the journals and present it. I decided to go with a theme, sexuality in Bram Stoker’s females. In the end, the whole experience was amazing and the presentation went fantastic, which was a plus.”

What has been your greatest challenge during your college experience?

“Honestly, it was the confidence for shot-put and sharing my opinions. Coming into college, it taught me to be more confident about the fact that I’m a good writer and I’m smart. That’s how I found my women and gender studies minor and I started telling myself that. With shot-put, I had to keep telling myself that I’m good and I’ve been doing this since seventh grade.”

What is one piece of advice you would give to freshman on your team?

“To relax. A lot of freshman think they have to come in and have to be good right away. It took me a while to get where I am now. People may think I’m good now, but I’m a senior. My freshman year I had to struggle with my coach and the new things she was teaching me. So you really just have to absorb, relax, and have fun. The technique will come after that from all of the hard work.”

What do you do in your free time?

“I work in public safety and police services, where I do assistant work. I really like to do research about things that I find interesting to me. For example, if I find a post-modern era or an author, I’ll research and read everything about it until I get to know it. I also like to play video games with my friends.”

What is your favorite thing about KU?

“The English department. They’re really helpful and I enjoy the professors because they help the students. If you’re interested about topics and passionate about something, they’re equally as interested. I find those conversations with the professors really fun and inspiring. They’re the reason I came here. I got a scholarship for track, which I was proud about, but what really sold it for me was the English department.”

How would you say you balance both academics and athletics?

“I always made sure to academically not be too serious. If I take it too seriously, I start to stress out. I make sure to take a breather or meditate between doing different assignments. Sometimes I’ll take a 30 minute break to play video games, and then go back to my work. You just have to relax through the whole thing.”

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