Ep 39: Whitney Lauenstein: Stepping Into Happy Valley, Reclaiming the Joy, and the Reality of Being a D1 Super-Mom

About this episode

Whitney Lauenstein discusses her journey as a D1 student-athlete and mother, addressing personal grief and the challenges of balancing sports and parenting.

Listener’s Note: This episode contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available 24/7. Please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or check the resources listed at the bottom of these show notes. In this episode of the Side Out Society Podcast, we sit down with Penn State’s graduate outside hitter Whitney Lauenstein for an incredibly honest conversation about resilience, self-advocacy, and growth. Whitney pulls back the curtain on her highly publicized collegiate journey from Nebraska to Texas, sharing the immense courage it took to step away from the sport to properly process personal grief after losing her dad to suicide. She breaks down how the arrival of her daughter, Layla, completely transformed her relationship with volleyball, shifting her focus from social media speculation to the beautifully hectic reality of being a D1 student-athlete and a mom. Whitney takes us behind the scenes of her new life in Happy Valley, explaining how a search on Zillow and a profound desire to play for an all-woman coaching staff led her straight to Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. She opens up about the logistical…

People in this episode

Guest: Whitney Lauenstein

Topics covered

• resilience
• self-advocacy
• mental health
• parenting
• collegiate athletics
• volleyball

Keywords

• Whitney Lauenstein
• D1 athlete
• mental health
• parenting
• volleyball
• resilience
• Happy Valley
• suicide
• self-advocacy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Penn State, Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Places: Happy Valley, Nebraska, Texas

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