Where Are They Now? Lauren Whyte

As a girl growing up in suburban Cleveland, Lauren Whyte decided that one day she'd live in a foreign country.

"I always wanted the opportunity to experience new cultures and not just go and visit but actually immerse yourself in it," Whyte said.

For Whyte, that childhood dream came true thanks to the sport of volleyball and her experience as a GW student-athlete.

In five seasons as a pro, the former Buff and Blue outside hitter found adventure exploring Azerbaijan, climbed Switzerland's highest peaks to fully enjoy the country's beauty and felt right at home among the friendly people of the Philippines before closing out the run with a memorable final season in Austria.

It was a path that required patience, adaptability and a deep passion for the game, but she's grateful for the opportunity to see the world while building on her success with the Buff and Blue from 2009-12.

"I knew I wasn't ready to be done," said Whyte, who is now pursuing her MBA at Duke after wrapping up her pro career in the spring of 2019. "When I was finishing my career at GW, I felt like I had more to give. I felt like there was more room to grow as a volleyball player, so I wasn't ready to end that journey."

Over four seasons in Foggy Bottom, Whyte carved out her place in program history, earning All Atlantic 10 honors three times while racking up more kills (1,625) than any Colonial besides NCAA all-time leader Svetlana Vtyurina. The two-time captain twice helped the Colonials reach the conference tournament, highlighted by a 20-win junior campaign in 2011.

Along the way, Whyte took on a challenging academic load to earn a Computational Mathematics degree while staying active in the athletic department as a member of GW SAAC and Leadership Academy.

"I learned a lot from being a student-athlete at GW, just in the fact that student and athlete are equally important," said Whyte, who was tabbed to the A-10 All-Academic Team three times. "Being an athlete taught me to have resilience and grit to be able to grind through anything, but then on the academic side, being in a rigorous program and a very good one gave me the skills that I needed and professional resources to succeed in my career long term."

Indeed, the well-rounded experience offered perfect preparation for what was to come, both on and off the court.

Over her first two years after graduation, Whyte spent her days working in a research program at the Federal Reserve and her nights and weekends playing volleyball wherever she could find high-level competition, including a stint playing under current GW head coach Sarah Bernson with the Chesapeake Rising Tide in the semi-pro Premier Volleyball League.

It was hard work, but Whyte had a plan.

"At first, I thought it was going to be this either/or decision," Whyte said. "I could either go overseas or I've got to stop playing volleyball and establish something on my resume, but I realized that with the opportunity I had at the Federal Reserve, it didn't have to be an either/or."

As her research rotation wound down, Whyte hired an agent and started looking for opportunities to play professionally.

She was walking into the gym one day during the summer of 2015 when she received a call with an offer from Azeryol Baku of the Azeri Superleague. By that evening, she was signed to begin her pro career on the banks of the Caspian Sea.

"It was definitely a whirlwind," Whyte remembered.

The journey started with the toughest season of her career. She had to quickly learn the customs of the mostly Muslim nation and do her best to grasp the language while trying to keep up in the well-regarded league playing on a squad that featured players from eight different countries.

It was an eye-opening experience that she can better appreciate looking back.

She navigated every challenge, boosted by a positive attitude and a knack for filling the downtime. Both, she says, are requirements for finding volleyball success far from home.

"You definitely have to be OK with being alone," Whyte said. "You have to get very comfortable with yourself. Because you are over there alone, and while you 100 percent make friends with your teammates and hopefully sometimes people outside of the club, it does get lonely.

You really have to want that lifestyle and be OK with that lifestyle because you love the game so much."

In Switzerland, Whyte found a more comfortable fit.

She emerged as one of the VBC Cheseaux's top scorers over two seasons, and she fell in love with the beauty of the European nation, taking advantage of the chance to explore the Alps by taking a one-week mountaineering course. (She's scaled The Matterhorn and Mont Blanc and hopes to return to complete a third notable peak, The Eiger.)

"Everything kind of fell into place," Whyte said.

The experience gave her the confidence to continue her career in the Philippines, where she joined the Iriga-Navy Oragons with a former Cheseaux teammate for a shortened summer season in 2018. She's glad that she did.

"The people in the Philippines are literally the nicest people that I've ever met in my entire life, just so thoughtful and caring," Whyte said

All the while, Whyte had her eye on her next chapter. She completed the GMAT during her second season in Switzerland and then took a break during the first half of the 2018-19 season to stay stateside and participate in business school interviews.

Despite her success, she wasn't certain she'd find a club to join midseason. Then, TSV Hartberg called. Two days later, she was on a plane to Austria.

She soaked in every detail over the season's final months, mindful that the end was near. In fitting fashion, she left the court a winner, leading her team to victory in its finale.

"I had kind of come to terms with the fact that I probably wasn't going to get another opportunity," Whyte said. "To be able to play in one more country and get that experience and kind of leave on my own terms, it made walking away from the sport a lot easier."

Since then, Whyte has adapted to a whole new set of challenges back in the classroom.

She's set to secure her MBA next spring, and she's accepted a brand management position at Frito Lay based in Dallas after completing a virtual summer internship with the company.

With her busy schedule, Whyte hasn't had much time for volleyball, although she's hoping to return to the court soon. Whenever she can, she's eager to share her experience with the next generation at her alma mater.

Back in the spring, Whyte had the opportunity to speak with the current group about her career and pathways to find success at the next level. It was easy to picture herself on the other end of the WebEx call and understand what kind of impact her words could make.

"I know I had so many questions back then about what it was like to play pro volleyball," Whyte said. "For me, it just seemed like it was out of grasp. It means a lot to be able to bring it a little bit closer to them and make it a reality, something that they could actually obtain if they were interested in going for it."

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