Palus plays tennis in high school
Courtesy | Emma Palus
When sophomore Emma Palus came from Poland to Texas for her senior year of high school, she was already planning to go to college on a tennis scholarship. She did not, however, originally want to attend Hillsdale.
Palus’ parents signed her up for tennis when she was 6, but it wasn’t until she was 12 that she began taking the sport seriously.
“It wasn’t even a passion,” Palus said. “It was just my life, like it became my life — tournaments, practices every day.”
Her parents also signed her up for English language classes in addition to her regular schooling, encouraging her to visit the U.S. one day.
When Palus’ father learned she could fund her college education with tennis, the sport gained a new importance for both of them.
“It just seemed like a really fun way to use tennis to also support the academic side I really wanted to pursue,” Palus said. “Going to college on a tennis scholarship was my goal since I was probably 15.”
For her senior year of high school, Palus transferred to John Newcombe Tennis Academy in Texas. At the academy, Palus discovered, among other things, the difficulty of trying to understand English when spoken with a strong Southern accent.
“Forming sentences took me so much time,” Palus said, “But eventually I just got used to it, and now I think it’s only getting better.”
At the academy, she would practice tennis from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., working in her schoolwork afterward, which she did remotely through her school in Poland.
Although growing up she had attended a hybrid school where she would take exams in person but do her studying at home, going completely long-distance posed new challenges. For example, her teachers could no longer proctor her exams in-person, and monitoring them virtually required her and her teachers to work around the seven-hour time difference.
After finishing high school, Palus attended a Division I school, Lamar University, in Texas for a year. Although she chose the school because she loved Texas and had made many friends there, she ended up becoming disenchanted with it.
“They had high acceptance rate and low graduation rate,” Palus said. “They were more focused on the sports. Which, I still love tennis, but there was a lot of pressure on that side.”
By contrast, Emma said she was disappointed at the school’s lack of academic rigor.
“To be honest, the classes at my previous college weren’t that hard,” Palus said. “Here in Hillsdale, they’re really tough, but at the same time, they’re so much better. They’re so much more interesting. And you can actually tell that the professor really cares about you and about your studying.”
In addition, Palus found the atmosphere at Lamar University to be less-than-friendly to her conservative views and Catholic faith.
Although Palus had never visited Hillsdale, her father was familiar with the school because of its conservative politics and had always wanted Palus to go there, believing she would be able to find like-minded people.
“He also is a fan of Charlie Kirk,” Palus said. “He was also talking a lot about this school. To be honest, I should have trusted him and go my first year here. But I’m just glad I ended up here.” As to the people, Palus said, “He was actually right. Like, I feel amazing here.”
Meanwhile, Palus has made a favorable impression on both her coach and her teammates.
“Emma is hilarious, I love her,” head coach Melanie Zampardo said. “She’s willing to try new things and push herself, and that’s something that I’m super excited for. I think that she’s going to be able to show a lot of growth with that type of mindset.”
Senior and team captain Bella Spinazze said after just one week of getting to know Palus, she already views her as an amazing addition to the team.
“Emma is so fun and just a light on court,” Spinazze said, “She’s always cheering and always has a smile on her face. She’s already such a fun presence and brings an amazing vibe to our team.”
After college, Palus said she wants to pursue a career in corporate law, but she still plans to play tennis for fun and encourages others to do the same.
“Just sign up for private lessons, or even just pick up some random racket, a ball, get a court with your friend that also doesn’t know what to do, and just try to hit the ball on the other side,” Palus said. “Obviously, you have to put many, many hours into tennis to actually be satisfied with the way you hit the ball. But to be honest, it’s so much fun. I think anyone could start.”
