Culture of Hard Work Instilled in Campbell
5/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
May 12, 2016
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Senior Julia Campbell has a school-record 28 wins in goal in 2016, and it was hard work, culture and values that led her to this point and a career after Michigan.
Campbell, a 2016 graduate with a degree in communication studies, has cherished being the regular starter for the fourth-ranked Wolverines. She has had a remarkable season as the last line of defense for what has been a spectacular defensive unit. It is a defense that held No. 14 Indiana to just two goals in the CWPA Championship final, a game in which Campbell made 13 saves.
"I am grateful and humbled to have been able to start my senior year," said Campbell. "My job in goal is made 100 times better by my defense. They have been nails all season. My success would not have been possible without my teammates."
Humility is one trait that Campbell has along with her ability to stop shots. She has cherished being a starter in her final year, the first season she has been the everyday starter.
She played in 13 games as a freshman and started six times in 14 games as a sophomore. Last season she split time as the starter with junior Emily Browning. The battle for the starting job during fall training was neck and neck between Campbell, Browning and sophomore Katherine Moore. Campbell stepped up at the right time to place herself in that starting job.
The team was at the Collegiate Cup in November in Irvine, California. Browning started against now No. 1-ranked USC, but Campbell entered midway through the contest and played well enough to earn the start the next game. She then led the squad to a 9-7 win over Hawaii and a 6-4 victory over Arizona State and has started all but one game since.
"We took a look at Julia's strengths," said head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi. "Her positioning, length and understanding of the game and her ability to get better each day to reach her full potential is what she has been working on for last two years. She knew she could be a starting impact goalie for this program."
The early success motivated Campbell and her teammates moving forward.
"That was exciting for everyone," said Campbell. "I think we had a great performance overall, and I personally let that fuel me for the rest of the season. That was something that really motivated me, seeing how good we can be. I wanted to continue that success the rest of the year."
Campbell and her teammates have continued that success, beating a school-record 23 ranked opponents. A big reason for the team's success is Leonardi's six program pillars: culture, leadership, teamwork, accountability, respect and communication. Campbell was one of the first student-athletes to buy into the pillars.
"She is never satisfied and wants to do better," said junior Danielle Johnson, Campbell's roommate. "You see that in water polo, and I see it every day in what she does. She works hard for what she wants, and eventually she succeeds."
That hard work really showed in the fall. While fighting for the starting job, Campbell was also taking a heavy class load and putting in long hours trying to find a career for after Michigan.
"I knew it was going to be stressful," said Campbell. "The future seemed so far off, but I really wanted to focus on securing a job before I left college."
Campbell went to a career fair in the School of Literature, Science and the Arts and met with a bunch of different companies. One particular company pulled her in because the recruiters talked about values and culture. Values and culture that fit with the team's six pillars.
"I was very fortunate to get a job as a marketing rep with Milwaukee Tool," said Campbell. "I really liked that the company is growing. The growth was a good sign to me that in the future there was an opportunity for personal growth within the company."
Having to work from the ground up in order to become a starter at Michigan, Campbell appreciates the sacrifices it takes to succeed.
"It is never thinking you are done or that you have done your best work," said Campbell. "You can be proud of what you have done, but you can never rest on your laurels. There is never a ceiling to success. I wanted to keep working to get better over my four years at Michigan, and that is something I want to continue in my job. Not only see how good I can be but also the level of success we can have as a marketing team."
She also appreciates being in a competitive environment.
"Even though I don't get to compete in the pool any more, I still want to compete in the workplace," said Campbell. "The company culture of never being comfortable with where you are at is something I thought would translate really well."
Campbell will have one more opportunity to be competitive in the pool as the senior will be goal for the Wolverines this weekend at the NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles. Michigan plays No. 6 Arizona State at 5:15 p.m. PDT on Friday (May 13) and will have two additional games on Saturday and Sunday.
