BOZEMAN – Montana State track and field athlete Tru Roginske has a lot on her plate. Not only is she an all-conference performer on the track, she’s all about academics off the track.
Roginske was a member of MSU’s 4×100-meter relay team that finished third at the Big Sky Conference championships this past outdoor season. She was also named to the Big Sky All-Academic team in both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
“We had 20 girls get a (4.0 grade-point average) this last semester and seven guys,” head coach Dale Kennedy said. “And certainly she’s one of those 20 on the women’s side. She epitomizes what I think we are really striving for with our student-athletes: excellence in the academic arena and excellence on the track.”
Roginske’s academic feats are just as impressive as her athletic accomplishments. She’s currently studying microbiology.
“I’m in the medical laboratory science option of it,” Roginske said of studying microbiology. “So I want to work in a lab somewhere, either with cancer or more focusing on hematology.”
For Roginske, the choice to join the medical profession stemmed from personal inspiration. Knowing she wanted to be in the healthcare field, a certain diagnosis pointed her in the right direction.
“My mom was diagnosed with cancer my freshman year, and just having her go through that I knew I wanted to be in healthcare, and this was a good option without having to go pre-Med or anything,” said Roginske. “It was just obviously really hard to have her go through that, and that’s why I said maybe focusing on cancer — she had breast cancer — to help women go through that and just more focus on that.”
Roginske has her motivation for academic success, but balancing athletics and academics hasn’t been easy. She often has practice sandwiched between classes throughout the day before then taking on the task of her schoolwork.
“You have to balance, not only mentally, but physically between athletics and school,” she said. “You have to be mentally there to compete, but also on test days. And you have to have enough sleep, balance homework, and so yeah, finding that right balance.”
Roginske’s athletic success pales in comparison to the importance of her academic studies. As she continues to make strides on the track, she doesn’t forget her inspiration off it.
