Setting the Foundation for a Future in Medicine

For Maija Nepszy, helping others has always come naturally.

Growing up in Windsor, Ontario, Nepszy was always the person who wanted to make sure everyone else was okay before worrying about herself.

Now, that same instinct is shaping her future.

A setter for the Tritons and a Human Biology major in Revelle College, Nepszy hopes to one day become a pediatrician. Her first year at UC San Diego gave her the opportunity to begin building that path, balancing a challenging course load with the demands of Division I volleyball while finding opportunities to explore her interests beyond the classroom.

“I think it was definitely a challenge, especially the first year, coming into a new school and starting college and all these classes and the new team,” Nepszy said. “But I think it's a pretty cool experience that you have to be grateful for because not many people have it.”

The experience also taught her that the demands of being a scholar-athlete can work together rather than exist separately.

“I think that being a biology major, especially with all the difficult classes, it teaches you a type of resilience that you can transfer to the court and vice versa, which I think is pretty cool.”

During her freshman season, Nepszy appeared in 19 matches and made 15 starts, recording 527 assists, 130 digs and 29 blocks. She also posted four double-doubles and earned Big West Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition with Honors.

Away from the court, she was laying the groundwork for a future in medicine.

Discovering a Purpose

Nepszy's interest in medicine is rooted in her desire to help others.

“I've always had a knack to want to help people,” she said. “Growing up, I was always the kid that would want other people to feel okay before I wanted myself to be okay.”

That desire eventually led her toward pediatrics.

“I want to be a pediatrician, so I guess this major is transferring into that,” Nepszy said. “Biology is something I've always been interested in. I think it's just super cool to see the way that our bodies work at such a minuscule level.”

Her first year at UC San Diego gave her the chance to explore that interest through hands-on experiences.

One of her favorite classes was a biology lab she took during the winter quarter. Rather than simply learning concepts through lectures and assignments, Nepszy enjoyed being able to work directly with the material.

“Going into the course, you got a hands-on experience, which I think is something I'm very used to in the sports world,” she said. “So it was fun to be able to do that in the classroom.”

She also found support from within her own team.

Teammate Jasmine Saran, a fellow Human Biology major who is also pursuing medical school, became an important source of support as Nepszy navigated her first year.

“She’s definitely somebody that I looked up to and still do,” Nepszy said.

Learning Beyond the Classroom

For Nepszy, preparing for a career in medicine means more than succeeding academically.

This summer, she began gaining experience outside the classroom through a lung cancer screening initiative after her freshman-year roommates introduced her to the opportunity.

As part of the outreach team, Nepszy helped contact doctors and connect them with the initiative while learning more about the different components involved in bringing health resources to the community.

“That was a really cool opportunity just because you get to help people in a different way, volunteering, but still working with the medical side,” she said.

The experience gave Nepszy a new perspective on the medical field while allowing her to contribute to a cause outside her eventual goal of working with children.

She hopes to continue participating in the initiative during the academic year.

A Lesson in Teaching

Another opportunity introduced through Saran brought Nepszy even closer to the population she hopes to serve someday.

During the year, Nepszy began tutoring seventh- and eighth-grade students once a week.

The experience quickly became one of her favorite parts of the week.

“I think that was probably my favorite out of the two just because it was with kids,” Nepszy said. “They were grades seven to eight, and I would go in once a week and you're just overwhelmed with all the joy from the kids.”

The Thursday tutoring sessions gave Nepszy an opportunity to take what she had learned through school and volleyball and share it with someone else.

“I'm usually a learner on the court and I'm not a teacher,” she said. “I was able to apply what I knew and just share it with other people, which I think is pretty cool.”

The experience also allowed Nepszy to reflect on her own journey.

“Especially knowing where I was when I was in seventh and eighth grade, being able to throw in little lessons and things,” she said. “But also just being met with these little kids that are fun, and it just keeps you on your toes.”

For Nepszy, it was another reminder that the lessons she has learned as a scholar-athlete can extend far beyond the court.

Growing Into Leadership

After spending much of her volleyball career as one of the younger players on her teams, Nepszy is entering her sophomore season in a new position.

For the first time, she has the opportunity to be one of the older players welcoming a new class of freshmen.

“I've never been the oldest on the teams that I've played on, or I guess in the older side of the team,” Nepszy said. “I've always been the youngest girl just because I played up when I used to play clubs, so I never got to experience what that felt like.”

Now, she gets to experience it from the other side.

“I think this year, having the freshmen come in, it's definitely a different experience, but it's one where you're able to, again, teach other people and hopefully bring them to their best,” she said. “But also, you're always still learning from the people that are older than you.”

For Nepszy, being a mentor does not mean simply passing down everything she knows.

She wants to help new teammates understand the culture of the program while remaining open to what they can bring with them.

“I'm still learning, but I'm teaching,” she said. “I get to show girls what I know and what our culture is and how we do things in the gym, but they might know something from club or from wherever they've played that we might want to bring into the gym as well.”

It is a philosophy that reflects how Nepszy approaches her academics, too.

She knows there is still plenty to learn, and she is excited to continue exploring.

Looking Ahead

As Nepszy begins her sophomore year, she is looking forward to another challenging year in Human Biology.

One class in particular stands out.

“I would say physics,” Nepszy said. “I know that's probably not a normal take, but I enjoyed physics in high school, so I know it'll be difficult, but I do like physics.”

Beyond her coursework, Nepszy hopes to gain additional experience in research.

During the winter and spring, when her volleyball schedule becomes lighter, she hopes to join a research lab and explore different areas of science.

“I'm hoping to get into a lab just to again get a little bit more knowledge and look at what I like and what I don't like going into a job one day,” she said.

While becoming a pediatrician remains her ultimate goal, Nepszy is allowing her experiences at UC San Diego to help shape exactly what that future will look like.

More Than a Triton

On the court, Maija Nepszy is a setter.

In the classroom, she is a Human Biology major preparing for a career in medicine.

In the community, she is a volunteer, tutor and mentor.

But all three parts of Nepszy's life are connected by the same motivation: helping others.

Her freshman year taught her that the resilience required in a difficult biology course can carry over to the volleyball court. Her experiences on the court have taught her how to communicate, adapt and work with others. Through tutoring and volunteering, she has begun discovering how those skills can be used to help people beyond UC San Diego Athletics.

As she enters her second year, Nepszy is still learning what her future will hold. She wants to gain research experience, continue working with children and become a mentor to the younger teammates now following in her footsteps.

For now, she is embracing each opportunity to learn something new.

Whether she's setting a volleyball, studying the human body or helping a seventh grader understand a lesson, Nepszy is building toward the same goal.

Helping others.

For Maija Nepszy, the classroom and the court may look different. But the lessons she learns in each are helping shape the person she hopes to become, both on and off the court.

More Than a Triton: Stories of UC San Diego Scholar-Athletes Beyond Competition
Zehra Anbarlilar, Women's Fencing: Building a Home an Ocean Away
Thomas Fry, Men's Cross Country/Track & Field: Changing the Culture of Athletics, One Conversation at a Time
Sophia Bell, Women's Swimming: Finding Home in Open Water
Elise Nishimura, Softball: Using Her Platform for the Planet
Tate Meaux, Men's Cross Country/Track & Field: Running Toward a Greater Purpose

Fuel the Future of Triton Athletics
Support scholar-athletes like Maija Nepszy by donating to the Triton Athletic Fund or the sport of your choice. Visit TritonAthleticFund.com for more information.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.