The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
PRIMED FOR SUCCESS
After shining in three sports, Fielder persues nursing degree at U-M
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: June 19, 2008
Long before she became the head coach of the Manchester varsity girls basketball team, Cori Kastel knew what Julie Fielder was all about.
Advertisement
While attending Manchester Middle School six years ago, Fielder was a student in Kastel's sixth grade Social Studies class. And even as a youngster, Fielder made quite the impression on her teacher with her work ethic in the classroom.
"You can tell which kids are going to be successful through their work, study habits and respect for their peers," Kastel said. "Julie is a gifted person in picking up things and she doesn't settle for being mediocre."
As she leaves high school behind, it's safe to say that Fielder proved Kastel right.
The recent Manchester High School graduate was a three-sport athlete, earning several letters and All-Conference honors in the process. Fielder also excelled in the classroom, where she compiled a 4.209 grade point average, and found time to participate in several volunteer activities throughout the community. For her efforts, Fielder is recognized as one of Manchester's top scholar-athletes for 2008.
According to Fielder, the honor is the result of a dogged work ethic.
"It means that athletic ability is not everything," Fielder said. "If you have fun playing sports, keep your grades up and be responsible, you get recognition like this."
Her coaches and teammates at Manchester High School have certainly enjoyed having Fielder in their programs. She was a member of the Manchester girls basketball, volleyball and softball teams for four years. In her career, Fielder has earned three varsity letters in volleyball and two each in basketball and softball. She has also earned two All-Conference First Team selections and was named All-Conference honorable mention twice. Combining her academic success with her athletics, Fielder has won 12 Scholar-Athlete Awards, one for each season she played.
In March, Fielder achieved her biggest honor when she was one of 32 student-athletes in the state to receive the Michigan High School Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete Award. She is the first Manchester student ever to receive that honor.
"Winning that sums up my athletics and academics all into one," Fielder said. "There were over 2,000 applicants."
At Manchester's commencement ceremony June 8, Fielder and Amanda Mutchler were named co-Ms. Dutch by Athletic Director Wes Gall and the Manchester Athletic Boosters.
In volleyball, Fielder served as a captain during her senior year. She developed into a dangerous front-row player and helped the Dutch to a 25-17-8 record, a six-game improvement over last year, and a second-place finish in the Cascades Conference.
"Julie brought a lot to the team and was a leader the girls looked up to," Manchester volleyball coach Mike Mininger said. "She kept an even keel as a captain and was willing to accept responsibility."
Fielder earned two All-Cascades Academic honors in basketball, where she was coached by Kastel the last two seasons. She teamed with fellow senior Amanda Mutchler to give the Dutch a strong post presence as the team went 8-13 during her senior year.
"She is competitive on the court and in the classroom," Kastel said. "Julie led by example and improved from her junior year to senior year. She wasn't a selfish player and gave everything she had in games and practices."
Fielder was a key member of the varsity softball team, earning All-Cascades First Team honors as a junior and honorable mention this year as a catcher. She batted .295 as a senior and helped the Dutch (13-19-1) make a run to the Division 3 district title game.
"Julie is a great kid who gave us great leadership on the field and improved immensely as a catcher," Manchester softball coach Nikole Fether said.
This year, Fielder helped contribute to the softball team's academic success. The entire squad earned Scholar-Athlete Awards, finishing with a combined 3.97 GPA.
Academically, Fielder was a member of the National Honor Society and served as the treasurer of the Student Council this year. She was also the president of Students Against Destructive Decisions.
She was named the Manchester Optimist Salutatorian at her graduation.
"I knew all along that I was No. 2 in the class and had to maintain my grades," Fielder said. "It was still exciting when I found out."
Outside of school, Fielder has volunteered for both the Manchester Chicken Broil and the Riverfolk Music & Arts Festival. She also volunteered at St. Joseph's Hospital in Saline.
"I like volunteering at all the events in town because you get to see all the people coming in," she said.
Her volunteer work at the hospital gave Fielder an idea of what she's about to enter, as she will pursue a nursing degree at the University of Michigan this fall. It was something she had an interest in since the third grade.
"I always like science and math," Fielder said. "I'm interested in the body and enjoy working around people."
Though she doesn't plan on playing any varsity sports at U of M, Fielder plans to stay active through intramurals.
Her coaches at Manchester believe Fielder will make a smooth transition into college life.
"Julie is very driven and focused," Kastel said. "She knows what needs to be done to succeed."
Fielder contributes her success to her family, teammates and coaches.
"My parents, grandparents and aunts came out to all my games and were supportive," she said. "Not everyone was as lucky as I was to have teammates who were easy to get along with. I got to know my coaches better being at a small school."
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
TOP JOBS
