Laura Barito: E8 Life After the Game
The Empire 8 is proud of all former student-athletes, and in recognition of their accomplishments after their playing days, we launched #E8 Life After the Game, a conference version of
NCAA Life After the Game.
Laura Barito left her mark on Stevens Institution of Technology and Empire 8 athletics throughout her career in the pool and on the track. Barito was named an All-American 22 different times between swimming and diving and track and field, and won national titles at both the 50-meter freestyle, and the 400-meter hurdle.
Barito capped her collegiate career by being named the 2011 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Woman of the Year.
After college Laura discovered her love for CrossFit. Not only does she train to reach her own goals, she also coaches other athletes. She relies on her engineering education and multi sport background to help develop nutrition plans and strength and conditioning programs for her athletes. Outside of the gym she focuses her attention on her apparel company, White Buffalo Training.
Millions of former NCAA student-athletes are making positive impacts across the globe on a daily basis with many crediting their success to their student-athlete academic and athletic experiences.
Let’s take a closer look at the story of former #E8 student-athlete Laura Barito, Stevens class of 2011.
Why did you choose to attend Stevens and what was your major? My major was mechanical engineering. I chose to attend Stevens specifically because Trevor Miele, the former head swim coach recruited me. I was looking for an engineering school with a swim program. I visited Stevens my senior year of high school and felt like it was a good fit.
What sport(s) did you play at Stevens? Swimming, track and field, and one season of cross country
Describe your career path since graduating from Stevens? It’s been anything but straight forward. After I graduated I got into the biomechanics PhD program at University of Delaware. After two years I decided it wasn’t the right path for me and I moved to be closer to my family in Louisville, KY. I coached CrossFit for a year then found an engineering job at GE appliances. I was laid off, found another engineering job at Samtec, a small connector company in New Albany, IN. After a year, I made the final decision that engineering wasn’t what I was meant to do. It was probably one of the hardest decisions of my life. Within a few months I had an offer to part own a CrossFit gym close to downtown Louisville, and the rest is history. I work long and weird hours for little pay (for now) but I absolutely love my job. I also applied to the exercise physiology graduate program at University of Louisville and have been taking classes for the last year. I’m really having a blast. This was definitely my calling all along. On top of this, I also compete nationally as a competitive weightlifter. I got sixth at the American Open in December 2016 as a 75kg lifter, a much higher ranking than I ever achieved as either a swimmer or a hurdler.
What is your current job title and what does your position entail? I’m currently partial owner of Falls City CrossFit. I manage the gym, write all of the programming, and coach a majority of the CrossFit classes. I also am the head coach of White Buffalo Barbell, my weightlifting club that has qualified multiple athletes to regional weightlifting meets. I’m the strength and conditioning coach for the Silver Creek High School Football program. I also own White Buffalo Training, LLC, my apparel company. I hand screen print t-shirts and sew fitness apparel.
http://www.whitebuffalotraining.com/
What do you do in your spare time? Currently my “spare time” is spent either sleeping (my favorite) or working on my apparel business. I hand make all of my apparel and that takes up most of my weekends. My apparel business has been integral in allowing me to keep competing at a national level and pay for my own expenses. I’ve also used it to sponsor athletes, such as my track teammate from Stevens, Alina Duran. We did a t-shirt fundraiser for her last year to help fund her trip to the Olympic Trials. Probably the best part about working on my apparel business is that it’s a ton of fun for me, hobbies that I’ve had since I was a little kid, now I just get paid for it.
What was most memorable to you about your experiences at Stevens as a student? As an athlete? I think the most important part of my student athlete experience was finding out the workload that I could handle while also competing at a high level in my sport. Classes were tough, and while I didn’t end up in a job in my field, it definitely prepared me for the classes I’m taking now in exercise physiology. It taught me a ton about time and stress management. As far as my experience athletically, it’s ultimately the reason that I’ve taken my current path. Brad Thornton, my swim coach, and John Crawford, my track coach are probably the biggest contributing factors to me being a coach and pursuing coaching and gym ownership for a living. They were incredible mentors and influences on my athletic career. I wouldn’t be where I am today, both as a coach and an athlete, without them. I joke occasionally that I don’t use my degree, but my athletic experience at Stevens is irreplaceable.
What would you say were your greatest athletic and academic accomplishment during your time at Stevens? I somehow managed to finish with a 3.82 GPA in mechanical engineering. I guess it proved to myself that I could handle anything that was thrown at me. My senior year, I finished with an NCAA title in the 50 freestyle in swimming, and the 400 hurdles in track and field, a sport I only picked up in college in my off-season to train for swimming. Even though I’m ranked higher nationally overall as a weightlifter, I’m still chasing that national title, and I hope to make that a reality in the next few years.
When you hear “Stevens” what is the first thing that comes to mind? Honestly my athletic career overshadows my academic career there at this point. I still try to stay in contact with my former coaches, even though they are no longer coaches there. I don’t think they realize the impact they had on me.
What advice would you give to current student-athletes? Something I would tell current student-athletes is your career as an athlete doesn’t have to be over when you graduate. Part of the reason I got into weightlifting is because it’s much more easily accessible at a competitive level than swimming and track beyond college. I know most swimmers hang up their goggles after their 4 years in college, but I firmly believe that was just the beginning of my athletic career. And it taught me how to balance work and school with being an athlete as well. If I could handle semesters with 21 credit hours of engineering classes and also swim 20 hours a week, I can definitely handle that with a 40+ hour a week job and grad classes.
Top 3 things on your bucket list? 1) Make an international team for weightlifting as a 90kg lifter 2) Grow my gym into the premiere strength and conditioning gym in the Louisville area, and 3) Finish my graduate degree in Exercise Physiology (I’m currently part time and it will take me 6 years) 4) (Bonus) Go to a Lady Gaga concert (her tickets are so expensive!)
What is something most people don’t know about you? I’m a very strong supporter of mental health awareness. I personally struggled with depression and anxiety for a lot of years. People that are close to me and people that follow me on social media know this, as I’m incredibly open about it, but it’s not something people would expect from me.
Rapid Fire questions
Favorite food – Taco Bell
Favorite band/musician – That’s a tough one, tie between Evanescence and Icon For Hire
Favorite TV show –How to Get Away With Murder or Chicago Med
Favorite Movie – The Dark Knight or Mean Girls
Favorite Book – I mostly read textbooks at this point
Favorite place to visit – Lake Placid
Can’t live without – my gym dog, Zeke, he’s a Norwegian Elkhound and goes with me everywhere
Pet Peeve – Coaches and gym owners that don’t take their education seriously. The learning shouldn’t stop when you get the job or open your gym.
Instagram -
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