Gladieux balances student teaching with pursuit of Olympic dream

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sometimes, plans change. Sophia Gladieux started her spring semester in a third-grade classroom at Pleasant Gap Elementary School. She looked to finish her student teaching experience and graduate in May. Then she would return to Penn State for a master’s degree — among other pursuits.

Then, she got the text.

Gladieux soon found herself in a new city in a new state chasing a new opportunity. Gladieux is after a coveted spot playing field hockey on the team that will represent the U.S. in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The Penn State standout moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, in pursuit of those dreams.

“I got a literal text message from the U.S. national team coach saying they had just qualified for the Olympics, and they said, ‘Would you want to come down here and train to potentially get selected for the Olympics?’, and I was like ‘Uh... yeah!’” Gladieux said.

That she was given this opportunity comes as no surprise. Gladieux has an impressive athletic resume. Simply put, she has set herself aside as one of the best college field hockey players in the country. She is a four-time All-American for the Nittany Lions. Experts picked her as one of the best players in the Big Ten four times. She earned Penn State Female Athlete of the Year honors last spring. Gladieux is the team’s go-to option for offense. And she does this all while earning Academic All-American honors for a school with which she has fallen in love.

“But it was one of those things, I just knew, it would feel like I couldn’t even imagine myself going to another school,” Gladieux said. “I can’t imagine going to a school where people don’t love their school.”

Gladieux said she plans to play one more college field hockey season while using her final “extra” year of NCAA eligibility granted to all student-athletes enrolled during the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19 related disruptions. She will do this while finishing her student teaching duties in the fall — she first found this dedication to education through her family.

“My sister also went to Penn State, she’s a huge reason why I went to Penn State,” she said. “All our friends and family friends are huge Penn Staters. With my sister going here I kind of just grew up with that.”

In high school, Gladieux would visit her sister Sarah Gladieux at Penn State. Sarah once served as a manager for the field hockey team in her time as an undergraduate. The 24-year-old studied political science and philosophy as an undergraduate and is now expected to graduate from law school at Rutgers University.

“My sister knows me more than I know myself and my sophomore year she said, ‘I think you would really do well with teaching,’ and I was like ‘Yeah I could see that,’” Gladieux said.

Not sure if she wanted to pursue a teaching degree, Gladieux started her college career without declaring a major. But as time went by, the suggestion of becoming a teacher began to make sense for Gladieux as she felt comfortable with public speaking and had experience giving private field hockey lessons.

“I liked teaching people," she said. "I liked growing the game and spreading my knowledge to younger generations.”

Gladieux knows in her career, she will use the skills she’s learned through her education degree, whether that is teaching in a classroom, coaching field hockey or both. She said she hopes that wherever her career takes her, it will be as an Olympian.

But while her teaching career is there waiting for her after graduation, Gladieux’s present focus is on returning to Charlotte to fulfill a dream. She said she not only hopes to go to Paris this summer, but also make the team that will compete at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. It will be the first Summer Olympics hosted by the U.S. in more than three decades.

Gladieux said she knows it’s an opportunity that won’t be available forever.

“Right now, I’m training for hopefully getting selected for Paris,” she said. “You don't have your whole life to go to the Olympics.”