Each Wednesday of the fall semester we'll be bringing you "Get to Know Them" profiles of current Slippery Rock student-athletes as we shine a light on who our athletes are outside of their sport. Next up, we check in with Morgan Donatelli of the women’s track & field team.


QUICK BIO
Donatelli, a junior education major from Hermitage, Pennsylvania, is a sprinter on The Rock’s track & field team. In addition to carrying a 3.83 GPA, Donatelli has also qualified for the PSAC Championships on four occasions while earning All-PSAC honors twice. 

IN HER OWN WORDS
Q: What made you choose Slippery Rock?
A: I have always wanted to be a teacher; Slippery Rock’s education program is highly respected and very organized. I knew that this school could help guide me on my path of helping to teach little minds!

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you have received? Who was it from?
A: “This too shall pass.” My grandma told me this at a young age. No matter what happens in life, it will always pass and things will get better.

Q: What’s the most embarrassing/funny moment that you can recall happening to you during a game or practice?
A: My senior year at the state championships in the 4x400-meter relay, after I passed the baton off, I tripped and fell on my face in front of the finish line. I was so embarrassed! The officials were yelling at me to get up and get off the track. I was scared I was going to get ran over. To make the situation worse, the official camera has pictures of the fall and it looked like I dove headfirst into a wave in the ocean!

Q: What’s your pre-meet routine?
A: Before warming up during a meet, I always envision my race in my head. I picture how it feels to set up my blocks, what my breathing sounds like and how my heart feels in my ears as its pumping adrenaline. Step-by-step of every inch of the track is being played out in my mind. I conclude my visualizing with how it will feel to cross the finish line and know I gave everything I had and laid it out on the track.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about your sport? What’s your least favorite thing about your sport? Why?
A: My favorite thing is how long the track meets are. Most people would say that is the worst thing about this sport considering they can be over 10-hour days. During those times, it gives our team the ability to bond, talk for hours and cheer on each other as we all prepare for our races. I think the long days bring us a lot closer. 

The least favorite part for me has to be the bus rides. I really love talking and everyone wants to sleep on the bus or be quiet! Sitting in silence for hours gets really boring, if I had the ability to teleport, I would use it for situations like this!

Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
A: In 10 years, I aspire to have my master’s degree in education with a job that I look forward to everyday, married and starting a family and actively engaged in my side hustle of buying houses and flipping them for fun.

Q: What teammate are you closest too?
A: I am closest to my best friend who hurdles named Megan Miller. She has been my rock for the last three years and is always there to give me a big sweaty hug after our races. We walk to get our temperatures taken together, to practice every day and we live about 20 minutes from each other in our hometowns so we see each other a lot in the summer too!

Q: Favorite course at SRU so far? Why?
A: I am really enjoying my stress management class I have this semester. I am learning so many new ways to deal and cope with daily life stressors. This course is very resourceful and has helped me pick up new strategies to feel more at ease throughout the day!

Q: Favorite athlete of all-time? Why?
A: My favorite athlete is Allison Felix. She is so hardworking, down to earth and believes in making the world a better place. Once she became pregnant with her first and only child, Nike dropped their contract with her. She ended up becoming sponsored with Athletica and is now an advocate for pregnant athletes and it is becoming normalized.

Q: In your opinion, what’s been your best individual performance in a collegiate game?
A: During the indoor PSAC Championships last year in the 400 finals. My first year of track was really hard for me, I had trouble adjusting and completely flaked during PSACs so I was extremely motivated and ready to redeem myself for the following year. I ended up giving everything I had in the finals to get on the podium and receive a third-place medal with my personal best time in college.

Q: Do you have a nickname? How did you get it? Who gave it to you? Do you actually like it?
A: I have had many nicknames over the years throughout different stages of my life, but my favorite one is the one I have received in college. My best friend who also happens to be my teammate named Megan, started calling me “Morg”. I love it! I think because it is something different than what I have heard for so many years is why I love it so much! My family and close friends from home call me “Mo” but most of my college friends call me “Morg”.

Q: Top 3 movies?
A: Disney movies hit home, they have so much internal meaning and I love just about every one of them. If I had to pick three I would say Frozen, Up, and Wreck it Ralph.

Q: As an upperclassman/veteran of the program, how do you try to help guide newcomers on the team?
A: Being a freshman can be really overwhelming. Not only adjusting to more so the real world but, classes, being away from home and friends and now your athletic sport is thrown into the mix. It is very easy to feel left out and lost because it takes time to build relationships. I really try to make the newer people feel welcome by asking them how they are, or simply how their day is going. I try to give small reminders for people to know they aren't alone and that I am always here if they need it. We were all freshmen at one time!

Q: Do you have a name for your car?
A: I do have a name for my car! I named her when I was 16, she is a red Kia Forte and the name that came to my mind was Fiona! My front license plate actually has her name on it.

Q: What would the best super power be?
A: For me, it would be the ability to teleport, but only when needed. It would be awesome to say “Hey! Let’s go to the beach!” and get there within seconds instead of having to sit in a car for eight hours and leaving at three in the morning.

Q: What’s one fashion trend you wish would come back?
A: I think it would be awesome to have afros come back. It is so cool how puffy and high people’s hair can get; I wish mine could do that.

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