Meghan Larson, the senior President of the Women’s Club Volleyball Team, discusses the lack of funding and how that has impacted her team.

 

By: Calvin Gummer

Meghan Larson, a senior at the University of Oregon is working on her major in general sciences. When she’s not working towards her degree or taking up arts and crafts, she serves as president of the Women’s Club Volleyball team for UO. Meghan has been the president since her junior year and has loved every minute of it except for one aspect, the lack of funding received in her time on the team and as president. Larson says, “The lack of funding makes me frustrated because as a club sport member I am apart of 13.5% of the student population. I feel as though this is a large percentage of the UO population to be denied funds by other students.” Meghan has played volleyball for ten years, and competitively for six of those years, and has enjoyed the game for as long as she can remember. When asked what keeps her driven, Meghan said, “Volleyball brings such a high intensity energy, workouts, and excitement to my life and those are some of the biggest reasons for why I continue to play despite the lack of funding.”

Before being president, Meghan led the girls as a captain after being on the team for less than two years. She was pushed to become the president of the team because of her desire to make changes for the team. She and the previous president discussed the lack of funds and she saw an opportunity to switch up the direction in which the team was going. When Meghan became president, she not only took over the responsibilities of the team but also saw a positive switch in how she carried her day to day self. Larson said, “When I was given the responsibility to be wise with the money it made me feel very responsible, more adult like, and more mature.”

While Meghan has tackled the job as president, she has also gotten over the fear of failure that comes with positions of responsibility. The start of a new job can be intimidating and the fear of disappointing her peers lingers for Meghan. “Being responsible for this much money at first was very tricky and definitely scared me. I now feel more comfortable dealing with all this money,” she said. As she nears the end of her time at UO, Meghan is focusing on her graduation and the club volleyball team. “In regards to next year, it makes me feel worried and sad to know that the club will not have the same financially stability that we worked so hard to create.” However, she plans on doing everything she can before leaving to set the volleyball team up for future success and growth. Whether that be continuing fundraisers, upping the team fees, or pressuring the University for more money, Meghan Larson wants to make the change.