The following is a feature profile written by Bryce Musser, who interned with the SU sports information office during the Fall 2023 semester. Bryce wrote a series of profiles of Raider student-athletes that will be featured on shipraiders.com from Dec. 20-Jan. 2.
 
Kendra Barlow has been a regular goalkeeper on the women's soccer team, and she is pursuing a degree in early childhood education while seeking minors in reading and psychology.
 
Barlow originally came to Shippensburg to pursue graphic design, but she changed her major to early childhood education.
 
During her senior year of high school, Barlow got to visit an elementary school with a group of students from her school. Barlow worked with an advanced student in a second-grade classroom and taught him math tricks with nines to get the problems correct. His face would light up when he got the answers correct and it made him excited, which made Barlow more excited than she already was for him.
 
"It helped me grow a passion for helping young kids learn and gain an understanding of new things," Barlow said.
 
Throughout her time at Ship, Barlow decided to minor in reading and psychology. Her minor in psychology allowed her to explore students and the mindset of young children, which gave her a new interest.
 
"I want to be a helping hand just as others were to me, and aid those who need clarity inside and outside of school," said Barlow.
 
Kendra is excited to further explore school counseling, and she has decided to explore school counseling even more with graduate school. With counseling, Barlow will be able to combine her interests in education, psychology, and helping others while still being able to work in the school system.
 
Barlow's favorite class in her major has been Building Community and Family Partnerships, because she was able to figure out how to reach out and include others within the school.
 
"I feel like involving families and community members is often overlooked, but when used correctly, it is an excellent way to enhance students' learning and get them excited about new things inside and outside of the classroom," said Barlow.
 
To manage school and soccer, Barlow looks ahead to see what she must accomplish each week. If she has an assignment that is due on a Thursday and her schedule is packed with classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and she has an away game on Wednesday, her new due date is that Monday.
 
Besides learning proper time management, Barlow believes it is important to keep school and soccer separate. If she is stressed about assignments and their due dates, bringing that stress into her soccer games is going to have a poor impact on her level of play.
 
"If I didn't play good in a game and bring that into class, it takes my attention away from class and makes it more difficult to concentrate," Barlow said.
 
One of the toughest adjustments for Barlow has been to learn to focus on what she is doing currently instead of other things, because you cannot change the results of other events going on. When she is at soccer, she can't do her schoolwork, so it works better for her to put all of her energy and effort into it. When Barlow is in class, she cannot change what happens during soccer, so it works better for her to focus on schoolwork.
 
Barlow began playing soccer at the age of five, but it wasn't until the age of eight that she took the position of goalie. Sports has always been a big part of her life, but once she hit twelve, she had narrowed it down to soccer. She had more fun playing soccer than she did anything else, and it was where she had met her best friends.
 
"Soccer has been my main source of stress relief for as long as I can remember, especially once I became a goalie," said Barlow.
 
Being a goalie has given Barlow opportunities to literally fly and gave her an overall sense of self, freedom, and happiness. She became obsessed with the rush she got from being a goalie. Every training session Barlow had throughout soccer made her passion stronger for it. The competition keeps her on her toes because no single shot or play is the exact same, and it forces her to grow and adapt with each play that is made. Her team has become her family and her coaches have become her parents.
 
"Dive after dive after dive. It was intoxicating," Barlow admits.
 
"The rush after making a save in a game with my teammates screaming with joy and relief as the parents cheer on the sidelines is like no other," said Barlow.
 
Again. It's a word Barlow constantly heard repeated over and over as she practiced. If she fell short or failed, her coach would always say 'again'. She would keep trying until she made the save. She has lived by this throughout her soccer career since the age of eleven. The word has also created Barlow's work drive, effort, and positive attitude that she has carried throughout the past ten years when she was first instructed by that coach.
 
"I believe that has a lot to do with my character as a player and has been crucial to who I am today," said Barlow.