As an undergraduate, Julia Kurowski ’22 won league championships and battled the nation’s best in the 2021 NCAA volleyball tournament. This academic year, she came back to do it once again for the 2022 season. Kurowski is the first graduate student to play for Head Coach Ryan Baker in his 17 seasons at Colgate. She’s aced her tests both on and off the court.
Having graduated with an educational studies and psychological science degree, she is currently enrolled in Colgate’s master of arts in teaching (MAT) graduate program. She finished her final volleyball season at Colgate as the Patriot League Player and Setter of the Year.
It’s an echo of her undergraduate days. Kurowski became Colgate’s first-ever Patriot League Setter of the Year in 2020 and then repeated the honor in 2021. She was also named the Patriot League MVP after the win against American in the 2021 season’s championship match. Her awards include four First Team All-Patriot League honors and one Academic All-Patriot League nod.
In Colgate’s October 2022 win over Bucknell, Kurowski broke the program record for career assists with 3,955 (breaking a record that had stood for more than a decade).
She’s experienced winning seasons every year at Colgate, making the NCAA tournament twice and the NIVC in her sophomore year campaign.
“The word that defines this team is ‘tough,’” says Kurowski, who was captain this year. “Every team has progressively gotten better and better. But this year, the discipline, the toughness, and the togetherness is what glues us together.”
After earning her bachelor’s degree, Kurowski said she wanted to return to Colgate to win another championship and enter the MAT program. She never considered going anywhere else.
She credits a lot of her achievements to her family. “My family comes to every single game that they can, which tends to be all of them,” she says.
Other attendees at Kurowski’s games: her Hamilton Central School sixth-grade students, whom she’s teaching through the MAT program.
“They were like, ‘You’re a superstar, could we come to your games?’” Kurowski says. “Later on they surprised me by showing up at our game against Army, and I cried from happiness. They have been amazing with me and are very respectful.”
The MAT program typically takes a year to complete, and Kurowski isn’t sure where she’ll jump next. She says she’s already gotten looks to sign with professional volleyball teams overseas but she’s going to take time to consider her options.
“It’s crazy to think that there’s life after Colgate,” she says. “This small town holds such a large spot in my heart. I have loved every experience I’ve had here, whether it be volleyball or academics.”