With Freshers Week underway and students across Glasgow preparing for the new academic year, we spoke to Accountancy graduate Emma Brownlie and Psychology student Lana Golob about life as student-athletes.
Emma impressively achieved her degree from Stirling University and Heriott-Watt alongside training full-time in football as part of Scotland's national academy.
After graduating, the defender then embarked on another academic journey as she gained her chartered accountancy qualification.
And those experiences have not been something Emma has had to wait until after football to put to good use, as before signing her first-ever professional contract with former club Everton in 2019 she worked as a qualified accountant.
It is still something she feels the benefit today from as she explained to us why she chose to go into the industry, and those advantages which are still present.
“My mum is an accountant, so I think that is why I saw it as a career path," Emma explained.
“Going through school, I struggled more with English, whereas mathematical things made a lot more sense to me. Numbers make sense to me and keep that side of my brain ticking.
“It is a great platform for when you do end up of retiring, but also it gives you something away from football whilst you’re in football as well.
“It is important to have a different focus because football is all fine-and-well, but it doesn’t always go right all of the time.
“You might go through injuries, you might go through a spell where you’re not playing well or the team isn’t in good form, so, mentally, studying can help you take a break away from football.
“Even at the moment, I still do a bit of accountancy stuff outside of football just to keep myself in it and take myself out of the pressures of football.”
Lana echoes Emma's sentiment as she emphasised how important studying for her Masters has been whilst she has sought to gain familiarity with her new club and a new culture.
"Of course, it’s not the easiest because some days you don’t want to study after a hard practice or you might have been travelling to an away game, but it is just a great opportunity to have something where you can disconnect from football,” she said.
“Especially, if you are like me, and you are living in a foreign country and all the people and friends that you have are connected to football, so that can mean it is quite hard to turn off.”
As part of her degree, Lana has been supporting with psychology sessions with Glasgow City's Academy, shadowing Stephen Leckey, who works with the club as part of our relationship with Athlete Focused.
“I am super grateful for the club,” Lana said. “They were already thinking about the psychological aspect of the game and had invested in somebody like Stephen.
“The club have been supportive of me and allowing me to shadow Stephen with the project with the Academy has been great.”
What Lana has learned from her degree is applicable to her game on the pitch. It has helped provide her with tools both in her day-to-day life, whilst also developing her into the player she is today.
"I trained in tennis when I was younger, and that was my first eye-opener to how much your mind is actually important in sport,” Lana said.
“By studying psychology, I’ve moved away from only sport and discovered how other aspects of your mind are impacting you in your daily life. I find that very interesting.
“The stuff I’ve learned can help with football, too. 100 per cent. Stuff like calming down techniques, the importance of a growth mindset, communication and appreciating constructive criticism have all been important aspects that have helped me develop to be a better player.”
So, having been in their shoes, what advice would our defensive duo give to Glaswegian students - both those who are returning and those who are just beginning their academic journey?
"Enjoy it,” Emma said. “Your studies and qualification will help you a lot in life, but you will also meet a lot of good people along the way who are in a similar position.”
“Follow your passion,” Lana added. “Follow what you are interested in, and it will make it so much easier and more enjoyable to study.”