College is a uniquely stressful time period in people’s lives. Navigating classwork, extracurricular activities, and maintaining a social life is enough to overwhelm the average Penn State student.

Amelia Tomashek is not the average Penn State student. On top of managing normal college commitments, she also juggles working at the Willard Media Center equipment checkout desk, her membership in business fraternity Phi Chi Theta and, most importantly, her role as a midfielder on Penn State’s women’s club lacrosse team.

“It is a lot sometimes,” Tomashek said. “I just have to take the time to decide what is actually important to me and stick with what I want to do.”

Just the thought of regularly not being home from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. would be enough to deter many people from the lifestyle that Tomashek leads, but she’s thoroughly embraced it.

She’s up and out of the apartment long before most of her roommates wake, always careful to clean up any trace of her quick breakfast. After spending hours checking out equipment at work and making small talk with her coworkers, Tomashek finally heads to class.

She has to cram in a quick study session in the hallway outside her Italian classroom in the Hammond Building; she’s used to carving out small pockets of time to get her work done.

She then returns home and either cooks herself a simple dinner or grabs something from the fridge to heat up. Tomashek usually meal preps on the weekend, making enough food to last her throughout the coming week. With all of her other commitments, she doesn’t have much time to devote to making herself dinner on weekdays.

And then, she’s done it. She’s gotten through the stressful, mundane parts of her day, and it’s time to head to lacrosse practice.

On the walk to Panzer Stadium with two of her teammates, a change comes over Tomashek. Despite the frigid temperatures and biting wind, she’s the happiest she’s been all day. She cracks jokes with her teammates, a smile breaking across her face the closer they get to the field.

That smile doesn’t leave her face throughout practice. She rolls around on the ground with laughter during warmups and chit-chats with her friends during drills. Her mind is relieved from the stress of her jam-packed schedule, if only for a few hours.

“Being on the field definitely clears my head,” Tomashek said. “Having a team environment is really important to me.”

She decided to try out for the team her freshman year primarily to stay in shape, but her relationship with the game has evolved to support her mental health as well as her physical health.

“The sense of community and being surrounded by people who share common interests is so helpful when I’m stressed,” Tomashek said.

She returns to her apartment at around 10 p.m. Instead of immediately collapsing into bed, she lingers in the kitchen, fixing herself a late-night snack and catching up with her roommates.

When speaking to her friends, they all have similar things to say about Tomashek. She’s responsible, she’s dedicated, she’s hard-working.

But she’s also always positive, always giggling, and always excited to hangout – even if she’s done more in one day than some people do in a week.