Alumni Spotlight: Camila Jersonsky

Aug. 17, 2016

Camila Jersonsky came to Auburn from Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the summer of 2010 and enjoyed a successful career with the Tigers (2010-13). The middle blocker finished her four years on The Plains as the program's most efficient hitter, having a program-best .355 career attack percentage. She also finished among the Top 10 in all four career blockings lists - solo blocks, block assists, total blocks, and blocks per set.

After being named to the SEC All-Freshman team in 2010, Jersonsky earned two more All-SEC honors (2012, 2013) and was also named to the AVCA All-South Region First Team in 2013.

In addition to her success on the court, Jersonsky exemplified what it took to be a student-athlete in the classroom as well. She was named to the 2013 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team and was honored as the SEC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year that same year. Jersonsky graduated as a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll honoree.

AU: When did you graduate and what was your major?
CJ: I graduated Spring 2015 with my Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and a concentration in Polymer and Fiber Engineering.

AU: What are you currently doing now?
CJ: I currently work as a Product Support Engineer in the Telecommunications industry.

AU: How had being a student-athlete prepare you for life after Auburn?
CJ: Being an student-athlete has shaped who I am today, in ways that help me as a worker today. It gave me a hard work ethic, good time management skills, and made me a team player.

AU: Favorite memory as an athlete?
CJ: I have multiple: making the NCAA tournament in 2010 and getting to the second round, beating Nebraska in the 2013 preseason, and coming back from a 1-2 (24-18) deficit against LSU in Baton Rouge and winning the tie break in 2013. A different kind of favorite memory was having my parents come watch me play on my Senior Weekend. It was the first time they visited, and it was so huge that they were there to walk on the court with me on Senior Night. It was very emotional, still is.

AU: Favorite memory as a student (favorite class/place on campus/etc.)?
CJ: Graduation weekend with my family, no doubt. My mom, uncle and two aunts came for my graduation. It was very special for me because it marked the end of an important phase of my life. A phase that started as a crazy adventure where I moved away from my home country without my family, to a new place with a different culture and language at the young age of 19. In retrospect, I don't know how I decided to do it, but I am glad I did.

AU: We are big on the Auburn Family here. What does that phrase mean to you?
CJ: As someone who was born and raised in a different country, it is crazy that I feel Auburn's values and traditions so deeply. Auburn is such a special place and will always be very dear to me. It was my home away from home for five years, and it will always feel that way. I most definitely feel part of the Auburn Family. This might be a little to literal, but my family was in Brasil for vacation, and my dad was wearing an Auburn shirt I got for him. Someone came over and said, "War Eagle!" No matter where you are in the world, the Auburn Family will be there.

AU: What made you decide to come to Auburn?
CJ: I chose Auburn because I fell in love with it on my official visit. It is such a beautiful campus and it is the perfect size: it is big but still small enough to where you can walk anywhere you need to go. I am from Buenos Aires, a big and crazy city, so it was nice to come to college in a place that is so different from that. It is a big school with a small town feeling.

AU: You were a part of the first Auburn team to make the NCAA Tournament and finished your career as one of the most consistent hitters in program history. What are some aspects that not only made you so successful as an athlete, but also made the teams you were a part of successful?
CJ: I think that the main thing is hard work, and holding yourself and your teammates accountable. You have to do your best in any situation you are in. If you are on the bench, you have to stay involved and maybe you will see something that could help the players on the court. Or you might be going in next so you have to be ready all the time. It is a team sport, not an individual sport. If the team lost, everyone lost, no matter how you performed personally. Same goes for practice, if you don't go for the ball because you didn't give it your all, everyone runs not just you. You have to understand that your actions affect the whole team, as well as everyone else's actions affect you. There is no "i" in team.

AU: In addition to your athletic success, you also exceled in the classroom. What does it take to be not only a top athlete, but a top scholar at the collegiate level?
CJ: It takes good time management skills and hard work. After my first year, I got behind with my classes so I had to take 17hrs in season and 18hrs in the off season, with labs. I remember I was sleeping about five hours a night because it was really hard to manage all of that on top of practice and away games. It was tough, also because I am a bit of a perfectionist so I couldn't do things half way. I would study on the bus, during nap time on trips, between classes, and after classes. I didn't have to stay up studying all night more than four times, but I did stay up late. I slept for one or two hours and woke up to keep studying before a test. There are many people that think that being a college athlete is full of perks and benefits and that athletes are spoiled. Some of that is true, but with those perks comes responsibility and the expectation that you give your 110% every time. If you are given the best, you are expected no less in return.

AU: If you had any advice for incoming Auburn volleyball players, what would it be?
CJ: One of my weight lifting coaches at Auburn told us two quotes that really got to me and that are probably the best advice I can give: "Wherever you are, be all there" - Jim Elliott, and "If you don't have time to do it right, when are you gonna have time to do it over?" - John Wooden

For the latest on Auburn volleyball, follow @AuburnVB on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AuburnVB.