Sept. 13, 2010
Outside hitter Stephanie Slatt is a senior member of the Notre Dame women’s volleyball team. Her ability to play in the middle or on the outside of the court makes her a crucial asset to the Irish. Being one of the best and most reliable servers on the squad, Stephanie had 203 serves last season with 12 aces. Before the Notre Dame Volleyball Invitational starts this weekend, Stephanie sat down with UND.com to tell us more about herself as well as her experiences here at Notre Dame.
1. How old were you when you started playing volleyball? I started playing volleyball when I was in 5th grade.
2. How did you first get involved in volleyball? I got my start in volleyball when my best friend in grade school encouraged me to play because I was tall.
3. Do you have any nicknames? I have several nicknames – Slatt, Sl-attack, Slatt Attack, Slattsky
4. What is your proudest moment in volleyball? My proudest moment in volleyball was my first block at the age of 12. I blocked a rival named Shellie who played for Northwest Juniors during my first year playing club volleyball. I was so excited and from then on loved blocking.
5. Has there been someone in your life that has inspired you? The person who has inspired me most is Bill Neville who was the head women’s volleyball coach at Washington (1991-2001), the head coach of the Men’s National Team (1989-90) and the head coach of the Women’s National Team in 1972. I started training with Bill my freshman year of high school all the way through my senior year and we still keep in contact. He has always been a positive influence in my life and motivated me to never give up on anything. His lessons and stories extend beyond the volleyball court and I continue to apply his life lessons to this day.
6. What is your usual pre-game routine? I have the same general routine of a pregame meal at Panera, which is a bowl of soup and an Asiago cheese bagel sliced and toasted with light cream cheese. Afterwards, I go to the training room and then to the locker room. Also, loud music is a necessity.
7. What song gets you pumped up before a game? The song that gets me pumped up before a game would be any recent hip-hop or rap song. A current favorite is by The Pack- “Wolfpack Party 2010”. I love to get pumped to anything with a good beat.
8. What is your dream job? My dream job is to either have my own design firm (possibly with Christina Kaelin, former ND volleyball teammate) or do advertising design for Apple.
9. What are some of your hobbies aside from volleyball? One of my favorite hobbies is drawing. I have always been creative ever since I was little. Although I am a Marketing and Graphic Design major, I don’t get the opportunity to just sit down and draw very often like I used to. It is a nice stress relief to take time every once in a while to sit down with paper and a pencil and see where things go from there.
10. What is your favorite food on campus? My favorite food on campus is the make your own stir-fry in the dining hall.
11. Where is your favorite spot on campus? My favorite spot on campus is the Grotto. It is absolutely beautiful and puts my mind at ease whenever necessary. Even a simple five minutes at the Grotto and the lighting of a candle can turn my day around.
12. What has been your favorite class at Notre Dame? My favorite class has been either Business Law or Slavery in the Atlantic World. My business law professor was absolutely amazing. The class is required for business majors but after the first few classes I contemplated pursuing a career in law because he was that inspiring. As for the Slavery in the Atlantic World course, it was one of the most interesting classes I have taken. It presented various viewpoints on slavery and its origins that most people today aren’t aware of.
13. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why? If I could visit anywhere in the world, I would travel to Africa. I have always wanted to go and I would love to visit and help people there.
14. What is your favorite movie? My favorite movie is “Stomp the Yard”.
15. What actress would you want to portray you in a film? The actress that I would choose to portray me in a movie would be Megan Fox…who wouldn’t want to look like her! Ha-Ha.
16. If you couldn’t play volleyball, what sport would you like to pursue? If I couldn’t play volleyball, I would possibly pursue soccer or I would focus more on my art. Like I mentioned earlier, I have always loved art, but I also played club soccer and club volleyball up until high school where I was forced to choose one or the other.
17. What is your favorite quote? My favorite quote is, “To be a champion you have to believe in yourself when no one else will.”
18. What is your favorite clothing store? My favorite clothing store is Urbanity. It is a small women’s and men’s “street wear” urban boutique located solely in Seattle, Wash. It was created as a kind of “one-stop shop” for people looking to put together an awesome urban outfit made up of a variety of brands and exclusives. I love it because it is a great example of my style and carries local Seattle brands in addition to well-known brands in the industry. I also have a lot of respect for the founder because he had a vision and worked hard to execute it to make his urban retail dream a reality… perfectly! Feel free to check out the blog site! http://www.urbanityshop.com/about
19. What is an interesting fact about you? An interesting fact about me is that I can cornrow hair!
20. What has been your best memory at Notre Dame so far? My best memory at Notre Dame so far has been beating Stanford last year. It was a preseason match and at the time Stanford was ranked 5th in the country. They were obviously favored due to their ranking and we came out and pulled together an entire team effort to win. It was such an awesome feeling to share as a team.