An Extra Incentive

Ask senior tennis standout Klaudyna Kasztelaniec ’09 about her athletic scholarship, and she says, without hesitation, “I wouldn’t be here without it — it gives me the extra incentive to work harder.” And when she says “work harder,” she doesn’t just mean on the tennis court.

A native of Krakow, Poland, and a business finance/economics double major, Kasztelaniec came to the United States so she could continue playing tennis seriously while pursuing a college degree. A full financial package combined with William and Mary’s academic rigor was too good to pass up, she says.

Kasztelaniec is certainly proving herself worthy of the private support she received from the Galloway Family Athletic Scholarship Endowment. Not only is she maintaining a near-perfect grade-point average, but as a sophomore, she led the Tribe to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) finals, where her victories as the fourth seed enabled her to finish the season with the team’s highest number of wins.

She was also nationally ranked for the first time in 2006–07 and received honors for her academic and athletic performance from both the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and ESPN The Magazine.

In addition to wowing Tribe fans on the court, Kasztelaniec remains highly dedicated to her studies and to community service. “Being a student-athlete might be harder than regular students’ lives, but I think it’s also much richer,” she says.

Although she will never stop playing tennis for fun, Kasztelaniec’s post-graduation plans do not include a tennis career. A daughter of Polish entrepreneurs, she wants to enter the world of business either in America or in Poland. Whichever the case, her William and Mary experiences will provide a solid foundation for success — something for which she will always be grateful.