Jenna Schulz is someone who finds a passion and sticks with it. That has been the case for the North Carolina State rising senior with running (she is a member of their powerhouse cross-country and track teams), STEM[1] (majoring in chemical engineering), and climate (she is concentrating her engineering studies in sustainable energy).

The Syracuse, New York native’s love for sports goes as far back as she can remember.

“I was immersed in all sorts of sports from the cradle,” shared Schulz. “My mom played soccer and softball, dad was a runner, and my two older brothers were into basketball, running, and baseball. And my grandfather was a legendary cross-country coach in the area. He coached the great Katy Schilly, the first female cross-country runner ever from New York.”

She followed her grandfather’s lead by getting into cross-country in middle school and loved it from the get-go. Winning also became a habit early on:

“I love to win, and especially enjoyed beating the boys, which I was able to do quite often back then,” Schulz said with a smile. “I knew I was on a Division I path when I started getting letters from coaches my freshman and even more so during my sophomore year. My older brother was recruited for D-I track and I was a better high school runner than he. That said, I was never the best cross-country or track runner in the state, so that kept me humble and hard-working.”

The upstate New York track cognoscenti thought that Schulz would surely continue her running career with her hometown Syracuse Orange, but she had other ideas when it came to her college choice.

“I certainly felt a pull to Syracuse since my brother went there,” the 6K cross-country specialist recalled. “But NC State had a lot going for it: A strong cross country and track team, a great engineering school, and let’s be honest, the warm weather was a big draw! My campus visit sealed the deal: State was the place for me.”

Another plus for the Raleigh, NC school was their track coach, Laurie Henes.

“I felt it was important to have a woman head track coach,” shared Schulz. “Our bodies are different, especially when we’re 18 to 22, and I thought a woman would understand us better. Coach Henes certainly does.” 

Schulz made a strong transition from high school to Division I track, despite arriving at NC State in the middle of COVID. She ran well as a freshman in the fall cross-country season as the Wolfpack won the ACC conference championship. But then a series of injuries — the bane of many a runner —interrupted her progress.

“A stress fracture in my femur during indoor track in February put me on the sidelines through my spring outdoor season,” she offered. “That was of course very frustrating. I healed and ran during the summer but then my sophomore cross-country season in the fall of 2021 was cut short by painful bursitis in my hip. I rehabbed and ran well during the winter 2022 indoor and spring outdoor track seasons, although not up to my expectations. Still, it was good to be healthy and train well. That continued into the summer, as I trained hard, running 70 miles per week. I was super-fit.” 

As she approached her junior season last fall, Schulz was excited to make a strong contribution to the Wolfpack cross country team. But then she started to feel pain in her other hip.

“It started out as bursitis but got a lot worse over time,” she lamented. “I got a steroid injection, and the doctors said I likely had a tear in my labrum. So, I shut it down for the fall, and rehabbed to get back for the indoor season in January. And then I suffered knee pain. It was a long road, and of course was frustrating, challenging and very hard, but I knew that I had a lot more to give to the team. The coaches and trainers and my teammates were and have always been super. And I’m always up for a tough challenge.”

Schulz’ next challenge was tough indeed: Returning for the spring 2023 outdoor track season at peak fitness. To do so, she worked harder than she ever had, especially when it came to strength training. That effort paid off big time as she had a remarkable outdoor campaign, setting personal bests in the 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters, qualifying for the NCAA East Regional meet at the University of North Florida in the latter.

Speaking of challenges, some may see her chemical engineering major with the environmental and sustainable energy concentration as a big hill to climb. To Schulz, it’s what she was meant to do. 

“I’ve always been a STEM person,” she related. “I loved what my high school chemistry teacher always used to say — ‘chemistry is everything and everything is chemistry!’ So, this is what I’m supposed to be studying.”

Her interest in climate change also goes way back.

“My family was always interested in protecting the environment and in climate change,” offered Schulz. “I read about it on my own while growing up. It really baffles me how so many people don’t care about climate, given how big our climate problems are, how big the opportunities around solutions are. This is why I’m concentrating my chemical engineering major on the environment and sustainable energy. I don’t know exactly how I’m going to put this into practice — graduate school for sustainable business is a real possibility — but I know that climate and the environment will play a big part in my career.”

Before she gets to that career, Schulz has at least one more year of collegiate cross-country as well as indoor and outdoor track to run.

She will do so as an EcoAthletes Champion.

“EcoAthletes Champions Sadey Rodriguez[2] and Inja Fric[3] told me about the organization and I immediately got excited about being part of it,” Schulz noted. “They will help me use my platform to inspire my followers to take climate action. As I get ready to continue my comeback in cross-country and in the indoor season track, I look forward to making connections with other Champions to brainstorm new ways to use sports as a force for the #ClimateComeback. And I will join the NC State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) this fall as a representative and look forward to advocating on behalf of the #ClimateComeback, specifically more sustainable practices the university and our athletic department can implement. Let’s go!”

[1] STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

[2] Sadey Rodriguez was a discus thrower at the University of Virginia (Class of 2022)

[3] Slovenian golfer Inja Fric recently graduated from NC State and will continue on to grad school this fall at Detroit’s Wayne State University in the fall

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