As a member of the UMSL softball team, Irene Travis earned numerous accolades including Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Week and All-GLVC selections. In addition to leading the Tritons on the field, Travis also earned bachelor’s degrees in criminology and criminal justice and social work as an undergraduate. (photo by Derik Holtmann)
The life of a student-athlete requires plenty of physical conditioning and discipline – hours in the weight room and on the practice field. But it often requires just as much mental fortitude.
Irene Travis can attest to that firsthand.
“Being a student-athlete taught me countless life lessons, from the importance of teamwork to grit to overcoming failure to pushing myself past what I thought I was capable,” she said.
The summer before Travis joined the University of Missouri–St. Louis softball team as a freshman middle infielder, she tore her ACL. Undaunted by the setback, Travis worked hard to rehabilitate her leg and was cleared to play by February. A month later, the softball season was cancelled as collegiate and professional athletic organizations grappled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Travis tapped into the focus, self-determination and perseverance she developed as a lifelong athlete to face that adversity and ultimately succeed on the field and in the classroom. Travis became a leader on the diamond, earning Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Week multiple times, All-GLVC honors in 2023 and 2024 and a nomination to the 2023 Tucci/NFCA Division II National Player of the Year watchlist. She also helped the Tritons secure an at-large bid to the 2023 NCAA Division II Tournament.
She’s turned in an equally impressive performance in the classroom. As an undergraduate, she earned bachelor’s degrees in criminology and criminal justice and social work and netted five Academic All-GLVC distinctions.
Travis continued her academic journey in the Graduate School at UMSL, and next month, she will graduate from the School of Social Work with an MSW.
Game-time decision
Athletics were a major part of Travis’ life growing up in suburban Chicago. In her youth, Travis played basketball, softball and volleyball. She began playing on travel softball teams at the age of 9 and specialized in the sport by the time she got to Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Illinois.
Her parents, both Chicago Public Schools teachers, placed an emphasis on education as well. Travis had an aptitude for schoolwork, particularly math, and she was also sensitive to the needs of others. But as high school graduation approached, she was unsure of what field to pursue in college.
“Growing up in a household with two teachers, I thought, ‘OK, maybe this isn’t for me,’” Travis said. “I knew I didn’t want to be a teacher, so I was looking into other ways I could help people. I was really interested in criminal justice at the time, loved watching true crime TV shows and listening to true crime podcasts.”
UMSL’s nationally recognized criminology and criminal justice program attracted her attention as she weighed college options. A trip to St. Louis to tour campus and meet the softball team, as well as a scholarship offer, solidified her decision to attend UMSL.
“I loved the coaches, and the girls were so authentic when I did have my first visit,” she said. “Everyone was so real, down to Earth.”
In a little more than year, they would become the core of Travis’ support system as she battled back from injury and regained her footing during one of the most challenging periods of her softball career.
Road to recovery
Tearing an ACL is a devastating injury for any athlete, but especially for one on the verge of beginning her collegiate career.
“The athletic trainers at UMSL were so good to me,” Travis recalled. “My coaches were so good to me. Obviously, as an athlete, if you tear your ACL right before you come into the program, you very well could be left behind. But I was never left behind.”
In one case, that was more literal than figurative. Because of the injury, Travis couldn’t safely drive. To get to her physical therapy appointments off campus, she was booking Uber rides back and forth. When her teammates found out, they first did what any good teammate does: laugh. Why hadn’t she just asked for a ride? After the requisite razzing, her coaches and teammates offered to take turns driving her to appointments.
The bonds Travis forged with her teammates would be a source of strength as her recovery progressed.
By February 2020, Travis had been cleared to play and was able to take the field in a handful of tournaments and regular season games before the rest of the season was cancelled on March 13. Because her range of motion was limited coming off the injury, Travis was playing third base instead of her usual position, shortstop.
Even playing a corner, she was surprised by how much slower she seemed to be moving and reacting. It was the beginning of a mental battle that stretched into the next two seasons.
“Sophomore year was really, really hard, and that was definitely a learning year,” Travis said. “I even went to my coaches, and I was like, ‘I don’t even know what’s going on.’ I was definitely not as confident in myself as a player, but that only made me stronger my last few years at UMSL. It was one of the things where growth comes from the hardest part of the journey.”
Junior year was also difficult, but for a different reason. Travis’ father passed away, but she carried on knowing that her father “had the best seat in the house” every time she set foot on the diamond.
Swing for the fences
The NCAA granted a fifth year of eligibility to student-athletes like Travis affected by the disruptions related to the pandemic, and she took full advantage of the extension on the field and in the classroom.
In her last two seasons, Travis took her usual position at shortstop and crushed the ball at the plate. During the 2023 season, Travis led the team with a .362 batting average and 72 hits. She added five home runs and 37 RBIs, both good for second place on the team. In 2024, she again led the team in hits with 62 and finished the season with a .341 batting average. Her strong performances in those final seasons earned a second team All-GLVC selection in 2023 and a third team All-GLVC selection in 2024.
With the knowledge that she would have an extra year at UMSL, Travis was determined to make the most of her education, too. In addition to her criminology and criminal justice studies, she added a second major in social work. Balancing two rigorous bachelor’s programs with the obligations of being a student-athlete wasn’t always easy, but the athletic department did everything it could to support her.
“Our coaches, especially, were very understanding, where school does come first,” Travis said. “They push that. So, I was fortunate enough to be a part of a culture that allowed you to do that.”
Travis found another passionate community in the School of Social Work, where she enjoyed the small class sizes. Faculty members including Associate Teaching Professor Courtney McDermott, Associate Teaching Professor Diane O’Brien and Teaching Professor Linda Wells-Glover inspired her and helped broaden her horizons. She was particularly thankful for one of Wells-Glover’s discussion-based classes, which exposed her to many diverse viewpoints from her classmates.
“We’re a big commuter school, so I was typically the youngest in my classes,” she said. “All these people, they have years of experience. This is their second career choice, or they went through something and they’re coming to this field because they want to help that population. It was just so interesting to learn from other perspectives, which I really appreciated.”
The experience in the BSW program motivated Travis to stay at UMSL for a sixth year to obtain her MSW. While it’s been tough to hang up her cleats, she’s found purpose as an intern with Bud to Bloom Play Therapy and as a graduate teaching assistant.
After the better part of a decade, her journey at UMSL will come to end next month. She plans to move to Chicago and pursue a career working with children and families through play therapy.
“I was so grateful for this opportunity, for all the people I met, all the memories I made, all the places I was taken,” she said. “I really just walk away with a heart full of gratitude as I go into this next chapter.”
