The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1444545
62 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2022 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? "My dad always tells me I never knew you as a human," she said. "I always knew you as my daughter who was a gymnast. And so we got to know a lot about each other and how we work [as adults]." It was a special opportunity to explore her relationship and recall her memo- ries with her father, but the book also afforded the opportunity to look inward. "It was very reflective for me to look at some of the things that had hap- pened, that I maybe wish didn't [in my life]," Karas said. "Looking where I am now, and what I learned from those s i t u a t i o n s , I ' m pretty proud of how I took lemons and made lemonade out of it. I learned a lot about myself writ- ing this book. "Once you start writing about your- self on paper and rereading it and go- ing, 'Oh gosh, this is about me,' you learn a lot." Karas' days look a lot different now. She is an associate c o m m u n i c a t i o n s manager for Huge, a global digital mar- keting firm. Karas has also taken on a new role in the world of gymnas- tics as a commen- tator for Big Ten Network. "It's been a very strange experience going from being so in the middle of something to a fly on the wall," she said. "I have to say the hardest part is not jumping out of my chair and screaming when the girls do a phenomenal routine. The act of watching and broadcasting versus doing it, it's totally weird. It is going to take a lot of getting used to." Karas' first BTN broadcast of the season came in January, and the lead-up gave her a familiar rush she had not felt in a while. "I feel like I am getting pre-meet jit- ters," she said. "It's gives me the same adrenaline rush gymnastics does, but it doesn't hurt my body, which is awesome. It's weird, but cool to still be able to have something to do with competitions." Karas is wearing a lot of different hats these days. Her time at Michigan pre- pared her for that, and she would have it no other way. "Michigan is a very special place," she said. "When they say leaders and best, they mean it. The word 'medioc- rity' is not in the Michigan vocabulary. You learn that quickly in how you carry yourself, how you are in the classroom, how you are in the community. "If you have a bad meet, or you lose a meet, you always h o l d yo u r h e a d high and congratu- late whoever won or may have done better. That's the standard of Michi- gan. And I've taken that with me as an a l u m n u s a n d i n the working world completely." Given Karas' ex- tensive gymnastics career and experi- ence, her résumé h ea d i n g i n to t h e w o r k i n g w o r l d was not that of her p e e rs. S h e fe e l s the leg up she had on the rest of the wo rk fo rce i s t h e school that made her. "[My parents told me] you have a lot of things that you can take from being an athlete and turn them into being an employee," she said. "That's something I didn't understand … that every day in the gym, and every day in the class- room, you were learning things that you can take to working as an alum of Mich- igan and in the working world. "Time management, getting things done efficiently and correctly, and holding yourself to a high standard or just things that you can't teach someone but Michigan teaches you. That's been a big thing from my time at Michigan, to always continue pushing boundaries and working hard at whatever it is." ❏ The Olivia Karas File M ic h i g an Acco m p li s h m ent s : Was a finalist for the 2019 AAI Award, which is given to the most outstanding senior collegiate fe - male gymnast in the country … Six-time All-American, twice on floor and all-around, once on bars and beam … Five -time regular- season All-American … 2016 Big Ten Freshman of the Year … Two- time Big Ten champion on the floor (2017) and all-around (2019) … Three-time first-team All-Big Ten (2016, 2017, 2019) … Two NCAA Championship appearances (2017, 2019) … Winner of four Big Ten team championships (2016-19) … Three-straight Big Ten regular-sea- son championships (2017-19). Professional Accomplishments: Currently an associate communica- tions manager for Huge, a global digi- tal marketing firm … Also on-air com- mentary for Big Ten Network, writer for gymnastics publications and Beam Queen Bootcamps participant. Fo n d e s t M i c h i g a n M e m o r y : "When we edged out Alabama my senior year to qualify for nationals. I like to call it the beginning of the quest for the national championship for Bev [Plocki] and Michigan. That's when we truly pushed the bound- ary and brought this new love and energy to Michigan gymnastics. "I'll never forget that moment. We were all holding hands watching the scoreboard just like they were. Seeing that we edged out Alabama for the second spot at the national championship after not making it the year before was amazing. It was just like a Cinderella story-type ending." Favo r i t e S p o t O n C a m p u s : "There's nothing quite like walking down State Street and then turning on to Hoover on game day. Seeing the sea of maize and blue walk- ing to the Big House is so magical. Just that mile or so strip of chaos of everyone there for Michigan. And seeing the State Street sign by the theater. It's so awesome." Education: Graduated in 2019 with a degree in communication and a minor in writing. Family: Dad (Jim), mom (Ellen), brother (Evan), grandmother (Toni Smith) and aunt (Ellen Smith). Karas, who has a degree in communications and writing, works for a global marketing firm, calls gymnastics meets on Big Ten Network and has penned a book with her father, Jim. PHOTO COURTESY OLIVIA KARAS