Georgia State junior volleyball player Shae Chapman is most known for being the 6-foot middle blocker who is accustomed to tallying up blocks and kills on the court for the Panthers– and rightfully so. Last year, she collected 40 kills and nine digs, while also ranking third on the Panthers’ team with 32 blocks.
However, many may not be familiar with how Chapman utilizes her time away from the game of volleyball. While every student-athlete’s personal life may differ from the next, Chapman moderately incorporates her fellow teammates into her life outside of being a Panther volleyball player.
In fact, The Signal was able to conduct a Q&A with Chapman, and she answered questions about herself as a student more so than a volleyball player.
The Signal: How do you balance the challenge of being a student-athlete?
Chapman: For me–well for the whole team really–we have to get a planner and really just write it down and [have] our schedules out…to see exactly what we have to do for each day. It kinda helps you to be organized and make sure you’re getting everything done– it’s pretty easy that way.
The Signal: How do you spend your spare time away from playing the game of volleyball?
Chapman: My spare time is usually still spent with my teammates — most of the time at Bible study with them, or a lot of us go to church with each other. It’s usually volleyball, school or church.
The Signal: Besides volleyball, what other sport do you enjoy to watch and play?
Chapman: I really like to watch basketball, but I can’t play basketball at all. But I really like swimming other than volleyball.
The Signal: Who’s your favorite athlete overall?
Chapman: I’m from Houston so James Harden.
The Signal: What’s your favorite professional team?
Chapman: The Houston Rockets
The Signal: What music artist do you listen to that really inspires you before a game?
Chapman: It’s probably a basic answer for me, but being from Houston, it’s Beyoncé and Travis Scott. Both of them, they just get me super pumped before a game. I don’t know what it is.
The Signal: How do you maintain a healthy diet throughout the season?
Chapman: I’m actually a vegetarian, and one of my other teammates (Anna Rantala) is also a vegetarian, so we kinda just meal prep, and we just bring our own food, and we make sure we have food all the time, and we’re getting time to eat to fuel our bodies before practice.
The Signal: Although the season has started, what are your goals for yourself as the season progresses?
Chapman: Just going all the way. We want to get all the way through that championship, all the way through the NCAA; we’re trying to get all the way to the tournament — all of us together doing it as a family, that’s what we’re ready for.
