My name is Hayley Polk and I'm a senior defender on the lacrosse team at the University of Michigan . I think the best piece of advice that was ever given to me was probably by my dad . My dad has always encouraged me to be myself and to give whatever I do my best effort and to have this resilient and aggressive mentality with whatever I put my mind to .
And I think I try to carry that into lacrosse , into school and into my daily life . And I think that's been the best piece of advice that I've been able to utilize in school um in my college career . Some of the most important things that I've been able to hone in on um in my college career are just trying to stay focused , like using the tools that I learned growing up being focused in lacrosse and only having my focus in things that were a priority to me and that would benefit me in the future .
Yeah , I just try to lean in on the resources that are provided , especially here at Michigan . Like , we have tutors and academic advisors that want to help you . And I think just using your free time outside of lacrosse to be focused on academics because your school really does matter , your grades matter .
Like it's just a no brainer . So I think advice for people um who are struggling is just be yourself like the coaches and the program that you're looking at want the same thing that you do , like you want a good school to go to and to have the right fit and they want the right fit and response like it's a two way street and I think if you're struggling just being the best you like talking about , like being honest and upfront about what you want out of a school and everything is going to work out how it's supposed to . I stressed so much about like picking the right place and everything .
So be confident and just be you . Yeah , I just try to lean in on the resources that are provided , especially here at Michigan . Like , we have tutors and academic advisors that want to help you .
