Up and over...
Greg Shroka, who is working toward his master’s degree in Construction Management, earned All-America status in June after placing sixth in the high jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a personal best height of 7 feet, 1.5 inches. His performance ranked second in Illinois history and made him the first Fighting Illini Outdoor All-American in the high jump in 30 years.
Shroka earned a bachelor’s degree in architectural studies in 2008 from the University of Illinois, and expects to graduate with his master’s degree in May 2010. His dedication to Fighting Illini Track & Field spans his entire academic year. In addition to carrying a demanding academic load, Shroka spends 20-25 hours per week at practice and training in the fall.
When the indoor season starts in January, he will add traveling to competitions to his schedule. The indoor season, which ends in March, flows into the outdoor season, which ends in June. Shroka also works 12-15 hours per week for a local architect. Good time management skills and communication with his professors enables him to balance it all, he said.
Greg Shroka
Greg Shroka
“You really learn early on that if you can balance your time, it’s a whole lot easier to get things accomplished,” Shroka said.
Despite the demanding and sometimes stressful schedule, Shroka said that he wouldn’t trade the lessons he’s learned from athletics.
“You can take the things you learn with athletics—the drive and the competition—and translate them into your academics,” he says. “The education is what’s going to carry me through the rest of my life—not track.”
How far athletics will carry Shroka depends on how well he jumps this year, he says.
“I’m going to have to jump a little higher this year to think about jumping post-collegiately, but a goal of mine has always been to make the Olympic trials.”
His success so far, earning All-America status his first time at nationals, has been encouraging, he said.
“It was definitely a big accomplishment—good for the self-esteem,” he says.
Shroka’s other accomplishments include taking fourth at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships with a performance of 7 feet, 1 inch to qualify for the national competition; placing fifth in the high jump at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships and the Big Ten Indoor Championships; being named the team’s Most Valuable Field Event Athlete; and earning Academic All Big Ten, which requires that a student keep his grade-point average above 3.0 and letter in a sport. He also holds the record high jump for Hanover Central High School in Indiana, with a jump of 6 feet, 8 inches.
Originally from Cedar Lake, Ind., Shroka is the son of Steve and Joyce Shroka.
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Contact: Celeste Arbogast Bragorgos, director of communications, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 217/333-6955.
If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, Engineering Communications Office, 217/244-7716, editor.