By: Alex Scott
Bellarmine welcomed this year three new staff members whose jobs are centered on student-athletes.
Bellarmine added two new student-athlete academic advisers, Natalie Cousin and Lory King, this fall as well as a new assistant director of athletics, Annie Coryell.
Each of these positions are resources for student-athletes, especially the first-year students.
Cousin completed her undergraduate degree at University of Michigan and her graduate degree at University of Texas in Austin. She worked at Ball State University as an academic coordinator before coming to Bellarmine.
Cousin views her job as the middle person between athletes and academics.
“I think it’s important to have someone in academic setting that kind of acts as their liaison to the rest of the academic side of campus experience… I see it as kind of helping to give them a wholistic support when they’re moving through college,” Cousin said.
King completed both her degrees at University of Louisville, so Bellarmine was not a far move.
Coryell earned an undergraduate degree from Purdue University and then earned her graduate degree from West Virginia University.
She worked at Lewis University before making the move to Bellarmine and finds some positive similarities between the two Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) schools.
“They (Bellarmine) also have high academic standards, and they’ve had success in athletics, which is true for my previous institution and other members of the GLVC. They take a lot of pride in their academics, their student-athlete experience, and preparing student-athletes for life after college,” Coryell said.
When it comes to the athletes, Coryell, said she enjoys being a part of their experience in college and after.
“We hope at the end of it we have prepared them for life after college and they had a great experience while thy were here,” Coryell said.
Chris Cooper, director of event management, said he is excited about the new additions and believes it is important for student-athletes to look to these resources.
Cooper said: “It’s important to set the tone early and to make sure they know the resources they have… I think all these resources are great for student-athletes. So again, making sure they know what they have and what they can go to these people for is critical.”