Lauren Hauser, a physical education teacher at WHS, was previously a tri-sport collegiate athlete at Rowan University. At Governor Livingston High School, she competed for the swim, soccer and softball teams.
“I was very active in all three seasons throughout my four years, and I did still compete in the summers, but in just summer swimming for my local swim team, until I was 18,” she said.
Despite this incredible athletic ability, Hauser never actually played for any club team. She never competed at the club level for any sports but never felt like she missed out. She went on to graduate high school in 2006 and majored in health and exercise science with a teacher certification at Rowan.
For as long as Hauser has known, she has always loved physical activity, even dating back to kindergarten. Not surprisingly, she has been around physical education her whole life, for her father was a PE teacher at Morris County and her mother at Westfield High School. Following in her parents’ footsteps, the decision and desire to become a physical education teacher were “easy,” in her words.
Going into the winter of her senior year, Hauser decided with the help of her coach that she wanted to continue her swimming career because that was her best sport. She traveled to the Meet of Champions at the end of her season and met the person who would be her college coach. After she showed interest in Rowan, she spoke with her guidance counselor, applied and got in, and the coach said that she would easily be an asset to her team. After that, her decision was final.
However, getting to that interest of Rowan was difficult. Hauser knew she wanted to step out and go somewhere outside of New Jersey, but her parents pushed for her to stay closer, even though she desired to go to the West Coast. Though she found difficulty in choosing where she wanted to go, the decision of what she wanted to do was unquestionable.
With the help of her parents and counselor, she decided that what was important to her was having a reputable program. With this, she also realized that she didn’t want to become a “small person in a big body of water.” So for her, Rowan was the perfect fit.
The first time visiting the college after she committed was in the spring of her senior year on recruitment day where she met kids on the swim team who took her around to discover what Rowan had to offer. After visiting the college and understanding what it would mean for her to go there, she knew that was the place she belonged.
Going into college, Hauser said she was very naive about the experience. On her first day, she expected practice to last an hour and a half, like in high school. However, when she was still working out four hours later, she questioned if she belonged. “After the first week I kind of wasn’t sure if this was something I was going to do and I sat with my teammates, and with encouragement and perseverance, I stuck with it and I ultimately became a team captain my senior year and really enjoyed my experience,” Hauser said.
After Hauser graduated in 2010, she competed each summer for 5 years at a masters swim meet in South Jersey. In advance of these competitions, every couple of years Hauser participates in a spring triathlon, which consists of swimming, biking and running. Hauser continues to stay active and loves every second of it.
Hauser also spent two years coaching the girls swim team at WHS and coached at some private schools through the years. She is also a college and high school swim official.
“I think that being a student-athlete today gives you guys tremendous opportunities to compete. See new places, meet new people, get an education that will be beneficial for your futures,” Hauser said.
She also believes that it is important to understand the statistic that only 2 percent of college athletes play professionally. Hauser thinks that it is important to take advantage of playing a sport in college if you are able to, considering how much it helped her. From her college experience, she took away important lessons, saying, “You aren’t stuck and set in something if you get somewhere and you realize maybe this wasn’t for me. You can change and there are people here to support you and whatever you choose to do.”
