While many see the daily schedule of a student-athlete as overwhelming, Civil Engineering Senior and Men’s Cross-Country team member Zack Marmol sees his schedule as a benefit towards his professional career. 

“...I think a lot of people have a civil engineering bachelor’s, a lot of people have intern experience, but I think it’s cool to have on my resume ‘Temple University Student-Athlete.’ And I think that when I'm applying for a job, that looks different than someone else,” he explains. 

This past summer Marmol interned with Langan, an engineering and environmental consulting firm, in their Denver, Colorado office. He worked on tasks such as site detailing, as-builts, takeoffs, estimating and also worked in their geotechnical laboratory.  

Being in the office, as opposed to out in the field in his previous internship, added a little more responsibility to Marmol’s workload. However, he felt more than prepared for the challenge. “Being a student-athlete you’re constantly in a high-stress environment, so I think it translates to work well because when you have all these tasks coming at you in the professional world sometimes it’s almost easier than the amount of tasks you’re trying to balance with being a student-athlete." 

Marmol’s competition season schedule certainly explains his ability to handle stress. While the exact training schedule varies throughout the week, generally the team meets Monday-Friday at 7am for their first practice of the day, getting back to campus around 10am. He then eats breakfast in the student-athlete lounge and heads to class. Around 12:30pm, after class, Marmol heads out for his second run of the day. Tuesdays and Thursdays the team has a lifting session from 3:30-4:20pm. He has classes for the rest of the evening and tries to reset for the next day. 

During the peak of training season, Marmol estimates he’s running around 100 miles a week, or 15 miles a day. 

While Marmol enjoys running, after graduation he’s looking forward to using running more as a social experience as opposed to competitive. “I’ll always like to run, and I think the community you build from running is great,” he states. 

His professional goals after graduation include pursuing a career in renewable energy, specifically in dams and hydroelectricity. Marmol cites the negative impact of fossil fuels, the growing market of renewable energy, and the importance of civil and geotechnical engineers in this industry as factors that drew him to this field. 

“I think that’s just...kind of a career that excites me...something that on a social level I can feel like I’m contributing to something that’s going to be beneficial to the community,” Marmol explains. 

Throughout his time at Temple, he is appreciative for the flexibility and understanding that the faculty of the College of Engineering have shown him. Marmol has never had any issues with a professor understanding his athletics schedule and has had many professors go above and beyond to ensure that he can get any help he needs. 

In terms of balancing his schedule, Marmol makes sure to prioritize his tasks and events, which doesn’t come without sacrifices. “Everything in life has sacrifices. You can only fill your plate up so much and expect to be successful,” he states when explaining some of the social aspects of college he’s given up as a student athlete. 

Overall, Marmol focuses on keeping his energy up as he tackles the rigor of his academic and training schedule. While things are busy for him now, he's grateful for the life skills he’s gained in balancing it all and is looking forward to using those skills to his advantage as he looks to begin his professional journey.