Brinna Lavelle
“I realized this is what life is about, I have to put in the work and push myself fully to get the grade that I want.”
Major: Biology, Pre-Vet
Hometown: Clarksville, Tennessee
Involvement: Pre-Vet Club; won bronze medal for Team USA in judo at 2018 FISU America Games
While training six days a week, the aspiring Olympic judo athlete also is a full-time junior at Austin Peay.
“We’ll drive to Miami,” dad David Lavelle said. “She’ll train. We’ll drive back and get back here by 8 o’clock Monday morning, and by 9:30 she’s back in class. She works really hard.”
That work was exemplified during a tough zoology class recently. She was ready to submit.
“Then I realized this is what life is about, I have to put in the work and push myself fully to get the grade that I want, so I worked really hard, and I pulled out an A.”
Brinna’s Army dad settled the family in Clarksville so he could spend more time with the family. And that’s why Brinna chose Austin Peay, “to be close to my family and so I could train here.”
“I just figured I felt more comfortable at Austin Peay, it was a lot better for me as a person.”
And the school has delivered, giving her real-life experience in the discipline she’s studying.
In the Pre-Vet Club, “Dr. Christina Galben sets up rabies clinics; it’s given us a lot of experience working with animals, really introducing us into the field.”
