My Carolina Experience: Sarah Howard
August 26, 2015 | Track & Field
UNC Athletic Communications
Sarah Howard has always stood out among her peers. She's always been a small statured shot putter on the field, but despite her size she's been able to throw a Top 10 mark in the nation and earn All-America honors. When she came to college she thought she might stand out for another reason.
“I was constantly told that college would be crazy, so I came to Carolina with the expectation that there would be no one else that shared my beliefs, but I've found that in my teammates,” says Howard. “Going to bible studies and church with them has opened up room to grow personally in my faith.”
Having found support within her athletic family, she has not only remained grounded in her faith; she's been able to be more open about it.
Howard's faith has steadily grown through her first three years of college, as has her performance in the field. Each year Howard has set a personal record in the shot put and she is now ranked second all time in the event in UNC's history. She only trails U.S. Olympian and 10-time All-America honoree Laura Gerraughty.
“I've been blessed to have had success at this level. People at home, or even other places will hear how I've done and it always kind of surprises me that they think I've done so well. I'm always thinking I can do better, and there are plenty of people that have done better, which is humbling in itself,” says Howard.
“I guess sometimes, at least for me, we forget that we are competing as UNC athletes and that some of us are even competitive on the world scale.
“That's mind-blowing when you really think about it because I just see myself as a typical person. I was in the top 20 in the NCAA last year, but I also had the second farthest throw in Canada, which is why I am pursuing making the Olympic team for them. It's weird when I pull myself out for a moment and consider that I could actually do that.”
Howard recently competed in the 2015 Canadian Track and Field Championships where she placed third in the women's shot put. She is trying to achieve an Olympic spot on the Canadian team for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Howard's mother Amanda is Canadian so Sarah enjoys dual American-Canadian citizenship.
Howard feels that attending UNC has helped her open up to people and be more willing to go outside of her comfort zone socially, academically and athletically. Her time here has pushed Howard to try out different subject matters in classes that she probably would have never tried otherwise. Howard decided to add a second major and is now a biology and religious studies double major. Though she doesn't know what she will do with the two majors in terms of a career path, she discloses that she enjoys her classes in both.
Just as she is driven to work hard in the arena of track and field she also feels Carolina student-athletes need to challenge themselves in the classroom.
“Don't be afraid of the hard work it takes to be successful here,” she advises. “It can be easy to coast by and get okay results, but to really put yourself out there and not be sure of the result is hard. You can't try to be great if you aren't willing to give your all, no matter what you do.”
Another aspect of Carolina that Howard has fallen in love with is the vast diversity she has found at the University.
“To have so many people at this University from different places and backgrounds is truly amazing. You can't get to know everybody or be a part of every group here, but there's that possibility to learn from and listen to so many different people.
“Earlier this year there was the tragedy of the Chapel Hill shootings (in February), and it was so beautiful to see all these different people come together to mourn over what happened. I hope that I can be a part of a place later in life where all of us don't have to look alike, be from the same place, or have the same background in order to live and grow beside one another.”
Players Mentioned
