Name: Grace Muchnick
Year: Junior
Hometown: Westport, Connecticut
Relationship Status: Taken
Position: Co-Captain of FSU Women’s Lacrosse Team
Major: Studio Art: Concentration in Graphic Design
Minor: Communications
Her Campus (HC): I see you’re all the way from Connecticut. What made you choose to come to FSU?
Grace Muchnick (GM): My mother actually moved down to Florida when I graduated high school. But the real reason I’d say is that I prefer sunburn over frostbite.
HC: Do you have a job?
GM: Yes, I work as a facility supervisor for Campus Recreation.
HC: How do you manage to play lacrosse with having both schoolwork and a job?
GM: I feel much more productive when I’m on a structured, busy schedule. This is the first year I’m working in addition to playing lacrosse. There are certain days during the week I can’t make conditioning because I have to work. The good thing about having a campus job is that they understand other commitments, so they cater to that when schedules may conflict.
HC: How long have you been playing lacrosse?
GM: I started playing lacrosse in third grade and have been playing ever since.
HC: What is your favorite experience playing lacrosse here at FSU?
GM: Last spring, during our championship tournament, we beat the University of Alabama in the first round. It was the farthest into the tournament and most successful the FSU lacrosse team has ever been, so we were pretty proud of that. Ever since I’ve been part of the team, we have continued to improve each year. It’s nice to see how much we’ve progressed.
HC: Do you feel that being co-captain of the team interferes with having a close friendship with your teammates?
GM: I think it would be more of an issue if my teammates took me seriously. We’re all so close. To be more elaborate, we’re not the types who judge when one of us comes to practice with puke stains on our shirt.
HC: In what way do you feel playing lacrosse at FSU has affected you most?
GM: Being a part of the team has had an enormous impact on my college experience. I was in the middle of my first spring semester on the team when I got the call from my Mother telling me that my brother, RJ, had passed away. He was in the Marine Corps and was preparing for his third deployment overseas when he was killed in a training accident. I had to leave school for three weeks, and while I was in Massachusetts with my family, my teammates posted a photo on Facebook of the team at a tournament wearing yellow ribbons with RJ’s initials – it has since turned into a team tradition and we wear the ribbons to honor him every game. With that being said, lacrosse definitely surpasses the title of being just a sport for me. The lacrosse team made it possible for me to come back to FSU – I don’t know what I would have done without them by my side.
HC: On a lighter note, what is travelling for tournaments like?
GM: It’s definitely an amazing bonding experience. You’re locked in a small car for hours on end with teammates, so you definitely grow closer and learn a lot about one another.
HC: What’s one aspect about lacrosse that you would change if you could?
GM: There are actually two things I would change. Definitely the running aspect of the sport, and also, I don’t particularly enjoy the no-contact rule.
HC: Other than lacrosse, what do you enjoy doing in your free time?
GM: I spend a lot of my free time working on my artwork and graphic design projects.
HC: Who is your favorite athlete of all time?
GM: Michael Jordan. I still can’t believe his Space Jam performance didn’t win an Oscar nomination.
HC: What song would you say best describes you?
GM: Heartbreaker.
HC: Last question, what are three interesting facts about yourself you want us to know?
GM: To start, I’m a single “mother” to a four and a half pound chihuahua named Piper, who is the center of my universe and the unofficial mascot to the FSU lacrosse team. Second, I have a tattoo of a pie under my right bicep, so whenever I’m hungry, all I need to do is flex. Third? Well I don’t believe in odd numbers, so we’ll leave it at those two facts.