NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Part of an ongoing series, VUCommodores.com catches up with former Vanderbilt tennis standout Courtney Colton.
Colton finished her Vandy career in 2016 with a career singles record of 94-52. The Davie, Florida, product was named to the 2016 NCAA All-Tournament Team and was given a 2016 SEC Community Service Award.
Colton recently took some time for a Q&A to update her life and career:
VUCommodores.com: What is your occupation these days?
Colton: “Behavior specialist for Williamson County Schools.”
How has COVID-19 affected you and your family?
“For me, my work takes place at home which has mostly become finishing and organizing any paperwork. There isn’t as much to do since the bulk of my job involves working with school teams to help reduce challenges behavior students may exhibit during the school day and teaching functional skills to those students. Our district officially canceled school for the year, so now we are looking at how to complete required meetings online.
“I’m really lucky to still have my job with the school district and still be getting paid, so I can’t really complain. My brother was a senior tennis player this year at Wisconsin so COVID-19 affected him the most out of my family since he will be missing milestone events such as senior day, graduation, etc. He is now staying with me, which is nice. The rest of my family has hunkered down and are doing well, so I am grateful for that.”
What has been the hardest adjustment?
“Finding routine. The first week or so I was off work, I still had my part-time job teaching tennis and then we were on spring break. Now I’m back working my full-time job, but with more monotonous tasks to be completed and have been furloughed from the part-time job. It’s been difficult to create and stick to some type of schedule. I’m getting there.”
What has been the most pleasant surprise in these circumstances?
“I’ve been going on walks almost every morning and I’m surprised how much I look forward to it. It’s quiet when I go and almost no one is out, so I get fresh air and some alone time. It doesn’t hurt that it’s become my podcast listening time as well.”
Any good books, movies or games to recommend?
“My brother and I have started binge-watching Community since it’s on Netflix now and it’s hilarious! I’ve also delved into a few horror podcasts. I’m currently listening to the Left-Right Game which is based on a r/nosleep Reddit of the same name. Both the Reddit and the podcast are very chilling and suspenseful.”
What was your all-time favorite moment as a Commodore?
“Probably winning SECs and the national championship my junior year. It was something I never thought would happen when I came to Vanderbilt. Going from barely making the semis of the SEC Tournament and getting whooped by Florida in the Round of 16 at NCAAs to then winning both SECs and NCAAs was, and still is, so surreal.”
What do you miss most in the sports world right now?
“I miss watching some of the professional tennis tournaments. The season had just started so it’s always intriguing to see how the year unfolds after the first slam of the year.”
Any advice or words of wisdom to Commodore Nation to help us get through this?
“Be easy on yourself. I’ve seen it in the educational world. There’s so much pressure to do all the things since we have ‘time,’ but this is an unexpected change for everyone. Change is hard to adjust to in general, so try to find little things to get some type of routine and forgive yourself if that doesn’t happen.”
Anything else you’d like to say about your time at Vanderbilt or what you’ve been up to since you left?
“The best thing to come from my years are the relationships I still maintain with my teammates and coaches. I talk to most of my teammates constantly and am even neighbors with Aleke Tsoubanos so I get to see her and her family often. I’m so lucky to be able to fall back on those relationships especially during a time like this.”
