As spring graduation approaches for Northwestern State University of Louisiana, active discussion about “what is next” is swarming campus. What are the post-graduation plans for the graduating Demon student-athletes?
Originally from Friendswood, Texas, Ashlyn Svoboda came to NSU in 2021, where she has played as a libero for the Lady Demons volleyball team for all four years. According to NSU Athletics, Svoboda finished her career ranked third on the digs leaderboard with 1,453 digs.
Svoboda will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in general studies with a concentration in social science and a minor in biology.
“Leaving college volleyball behind is bittersweet, but I am ready for the next chapter in my life. After graduation, I am thinking about coaching volleyball on a different level because I am not ready to let go of the sport,” Svoboda said.
Addison Patterson, Mississauga, Canada native, transferred from the University of Oregon and Tallahassee Community College to play at NSU for his last season. As an undergrad at NSU, he competed as a guard for the men’s basketball team.
“Patterson was named second-team All-Southland Conference in his first season at Northwestern. He is the first Demon named to the All-Southland team since the 2022-23 season,” according to NSU Athletics.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts at NSU, he plans to transfer to another university next semester, where he will attend graduate school and play basketball one more year. Patterson’s graduate school is not yet determined.
“When I am done with basketball as a player, I plan on getting into coaching and player development. I love being a player for a team, and I want to experience the coaching side of basketball,” Patterson said.
Emily Mougia, senior health and exercise science major, plans on staying one more year at NSU after graduation to play on the Lady Demons soccer team. An injury in the season-opening took the midfield defensive player out of the game for her senior season.
Mougia’s journey on the team started as a freshman in 2021, after leaving her hometown of Sachse, Texas. She now holds the position of team captain for the second consecutive season.
“Leaving college sports behind is definitely scary, I have played this sport since five years old,” Mougia said.
Mougia sees herself potentially using her sports experience to coach within her community in the future, but her main focus is to obtain her doctorate degree in physical therapy with an interest in sports medicine. While playing one last season with NSU, she will be applying to physical therapy graduate schools.
All three student-athletes shared how their athletics careers prepared them for life after college. Patterson learned valuable lessons at all the institutions he transferred from.
“Being a student-athlete has prepared me in all areas of life. Aspects such as learning from adversity, dealing with hardships like injuries and time management have all improved from being a student-athlete,” Patterson said.
Svoboda explained that skills like leadership, teamwork and discipline are important to her. These qualities are something that she learned while playing sports and she explained that it will help her in her next chapter in life.
“Sports teach you a lot of life lessons. Life lessons that are hard for some people to grasp,” Svoboda said.
Although Mougia hasn’t finished her time on the soccer field yet, she shared the hardships that she had to fight through that she will transfer to her career.
“You have to learn how to balance everything going on in your life. You have to balance class, homework, practice and missing class for away games. Sports teach you discipline, time management and leadership,” Mougia said.
From their time at NSU, student-athletes have learned valuable life experiences from their sports that will help them navigate their future professions.
