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Student of the Month

May Student of the Month: Cali Beyer

By May 1, 2014October 25th, 2018No Comments

Calista “Cali” Beyer

Tell us about your time growing up, your family and high school, please: My time growing up was spent outside, playing sports, and running around with friends. Growing up in a small town made for a great environment. I could run all around town without a single worry in the world. All of my friends lived within biking distance, and we would spend time after school together. Everyone knew they had to be home by 5 p.m. for dinner, but we would be back outside creating games by six. My family was always very supportive of the things I wanted to do. I would see them in the stands for every single event, and I never realized how important that was until recently. My parents also instilled a great work ethic in me. I was working part time jobs before I could drive. Tripoli High School was a typical small town school. I had 36 students in my graduating class. The athletes that played volleyball would also be the same athletes playing softball, running track, and playing basketball. I am grateful to have had the small-town experience.

You must hear this a lot, but what is it about Tripoli and volleyball?: I do hear that a lot. Honestly, it is really hard to describe life in Tripoli without talking about the volleyball atmosphere. Ever since I was young, I was playing volleyball with my friends. We would go to games, sit along the stage, and watch our idols play. It was a thrilling experience to follow our team down to the state tournament and watch Tripoli win a state title. For me, it was all about wanting to have the experience for myself. I believe that is the reason volleyball is so instilled in the hearts of the young girls in Tripoli.

How did you decide to come to Kirkwood?: Coming to Kirkwood was a very easy decision for me. I wanted to figure out my future plans and not spend an arm and a leg to do it. After deciding on Kirkwood, Coach Williams contacted me and I decided to play volleyball as well.

Can you think of one or two things about volleyball that only people who have played the game can understand?: That’s a tough question. I would have to say the best feeling you can have during the game is making a good hustle play or making a great dig and seeing your teammate really just put the ball away. Celebrating that point is the greatest feeling. Another thing most people don’t understand is that floor burns really do hurt. You don’t realize how many you have until taking a shower, and half of your body burns.

What are your plans after you graduate from Kirkwood?: I plan to attend Clarke University in the fall. I will continue to play volleyball and will be hopefully applying to Physical Therapy school soon after.

It’s the spring of 2019–five years from now. Where are you, and what are you doing?: If all of my future plans work out, I will be graduating from PT school. I will take my boards in the summer and then be an accredited physical therapist. I think that I would want to live near a big city and work with outpatients in a large hospital.