Root earns her way through academics

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BY RON POWELL / Lincoln Journal Star

When Brigette Root decided last May to take up Nebraska’s offer to be a walk-on setter in the volleyball program, she didn’t have to worry about financing her lifelong dream to be a Husker.

Her academic performance took care of that.

Root, a 5-foot-10 all-state setter who led Grand Island to the Class A state volleyball finals for the second straight season in 2007, is just as outstanding in the classroom. Her No. 1 class ranking, 4.0 grade-point average taking the most difficult classes Grand Island offers and a 32 ACT score helped her land a Regents Scholarship at NU.

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Brigette Root (Michael Paulsen)

Brigette Root (Michael Paulsen)

That sterling athletic/academic record earned Root first-team Academic All-America honors from PrepVolleyball.com in January.

“I was hoping something like that (the Regents Scholarship) would come through for me,” said Root, who turned down a half-scholarship (walk on as a freshman and sophomore, then a scholarship as a junior and senior) to play at Creighton. “I knew if I could get my ACT score up and maintain my GPA, I had a chance.’’

Root has cut her schedule to four classes in her final high school semester, but all of them are challenging — advanced placement chemistry, AP calculus, college-credit English and AP Spanish 7-8. She’s done at 12:45 p.m. each day, giving her plenty of time to get school work done before girls tennis practice starts at 3:45 p.m. She’s the Islanders’ No. 2 singles player this spring.

“I’m not there (at school) all day, but I get my money’s worth,” said Root, the daughter of Grand Island volleyball coach Bill Root. “All four of my classes are demanding, and the teachers really challenge their students. It hasn’t been easy with any of them, but that’s good. I’ve learned a lot from them.”

One of her instructors, calculus teacher Greg Kush, calls Root “a dedicated student who also has great intellect.

“Brigette makes sure she gets the most out of that,” Kush said. “She’s pretty independent when it comes to doing her work. She’ll ask for help if she absolutely needs it, but most of the time, she’s determined to figure it out on her own.”

The difficult class load has rewarded Root with 15 hours of college credits before she ever steps foot on the NU campus. She’ll pick up a few more this summer, when she takes a speech class at Central Community College in Grand Island, mixing that in with her summer job as a lifeguard at the Island Oasis Waterpark.

She’s undecided on a career path. She’s considering pharmacy or physical therapy. Something in math is also a possibility, such as being an accountant or an actuary.

Regardless of which way she goes, Root plans to have a minor in Spanish.

Between sports, academics, being the senior class secretary, a member of the National Honor Society and volunteering at her church, Root has found time management to be vital. But she’d want it no other way.

“I love being busy, I’m not a sit-around type of person,” Root said.