ASU Trailblazer: Katie Jo Light

But it was actually “practice makes perfect” for Light, who began preparing for both sports and medicine at a young age.

“People used to ask, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’,” she said, “and I would always say that I wanted to be a doctor. Around middle and high school, I realized I really liked math and science classes. Then the subjects just kind of clicked with me, and it fell into place after that.”

“I also played pretty much any sport that a girl could play,” she added. “I did tennis, softball, basketball, track, cheerleading and dance. I wasn’t super into all of them, but throughout elementary and middle school, I did everything. I even was on the golf team in middle school, which is comical now.”

But Light’s true adoration was in playing volleyball, and she came by it honestly.

“My mom played volleyball in college, too, but she never made me play volleyball,” she explained. “She would encourage me to play a lot of sports, so I think I just latched on to volleyball. It was kind of our thing that we did together.”

Part of their thing was Light playing club volleyball, which required travel and took up their weekends, but is also where Light met Angelo State’s head volleyball coach, Chuck Waddington. After observing Light’s capabilities at the same volleyball club where his own daughter played, Waddington rolled out the red carpet for Light and made Angelo State feel like home, even though she hadn’t even heard of ASU before.

“It just felt right - I can’t explain it other than that,” Light said. “I remember walking into the Junell Center, and it was beautiful. It was like a Division I gym, and my picture was on the jumbotron.”

After getting to experience what life would be like as a Rambelle volleyball player, Light was also very impressed with the Biology Department’s pre-medicine program and the Honors Program.

“I wasn’t going to be an Olympian, and I knew I wanted to go somewhere where I could play volleyball for fun,” she said. “But most importantly, I wanted to get the education aspect out of it. ASU seemed like a great place for me to get the best of both worlds.”

“I’m super grateful for my time at ASU!”

During her time at ASU, Light continued to shine not only on the volleyball court, but in the classroom, as well. In 2015, she was named the Lone Star Conference Libero of the Year, and she was a two-time LSC Academic Player of the Year. She was also the first ASU volleyball player to be named an All-American and a first-team Academic All-American in the same season.

Many of her biology professors had a profound impact by working with her athletics schedule, even when it conflicted with classes and labs. Dr. Shirley Eoff, director of the Honors Program, also played a huge role in supporting Light by helping her balance athletics and academics, and she even attended her volleyball matches.

“My professors bent over backward to make my dream of becoming a doctor come true.”

“Even when I missed class because we made it to regionals, my professors were able to work with me,” Light said. “I truly wouldn’t have been able to do it without their support. They bent over backward to make my dream of becoming a doctor come true.”

Light also made it a priority to stay involved on campus in other ways. She was in a variety of student organizations, including Tri-Beta, the Angelo State Culture Exchange, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She was even crowned the 2015 Homecoming Queen.

Being in the Honors Program also paid dividends. As a senior, Light became the first ASU student to earn early admittance to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine through a special agreement between TTUHSC and the Honors Program.

“I actually found out right after one of my volleyball practices,” she said. “I got an email, and one of my teammates filmed my reaction. I was crying, and some of my teammates were crying. I sometimes watch that when I feel overwhelmed.”

Since first arriving at ASU, Light has completed 11 years of higher education, including her ASU biology degree in 2016, medical school and her residency. She now has her own practice specializing in women’s health, and she has carried what she learned as a Rambelle student-athlete into her career.

“Medicine is definitely a team sport,” she explained. “Between the patients, the other specialists, the nurses - everything that comes with teamwork, like communication and leadership, and wanting to represent yourself and your team well - I feel like the parallels are unending. I’m super grateful for my time at ASU because I feel like the transition from arriving at medical school and my residency to now having my own practice, it never really was that hard of a jump.”

Each day looks different for Light as she does a mix of adult medicine and obstetric care, and even teaches residents and medical students along the way.

“It is so cool to be able to care for a patient before they’re pregnant, and then take care of them while they are pregnant, and then deliver their baby, and then get to take care of mom and baby.” she said. “I’m looking forward to the future and getting to take care of generations of families.”

Light also encourages anyone, student-athlete or not, to consider Angelo State for their college choice.

“There is something so special at ASU, you’ll know people on a personal level.”

“You won’t regret it,” she said. “I feel like a lot of times people are so caught up in the big-name schools, right? But, there is something so special at ASU. You’re not just a small fish in a big sea. You’ll know people on a personal level, know your professors on a personal level.”

“It’s an opportunity to truly form relationships that will last forever.”