Poppens' Cyclone Career Already Underway

AMES, Iowa ? Future Cyclone women's basketball player Chelsea Poppens has experienced a unique start to her college career, but she is used to being different. After graduating from Aplington-Parkersburg High School on May 17, Poppens moved into her dorm on the Iowa State campus May 18 to begin her first college class.

The balance of the ISU freshmen class will join Poppens this weekend when the future Cyclones participate in ISU's Elite Camp. Following camp, the rest of the freshmen will move into their dorms and prepare for the second session of summer classes.

“I thought if I got one class out of the way early, it would be easier to enjoy the rest of the summer,” Poppens said. “My family is taking a vacation and I thought taking a class early would make it easier for me to just go and have fun.”

While she has lived alone her first three weeks on campus, Poppens has already perfected the art of multi-tasking. She has continued to make trips back home, as she finished up her prep track and field career and worked on a piece of artwork at the middle school.

The 6-2 forward qualified for the Iowa state high school championships in track after just one season of competing in the sport. She made the state meet, May 21-23, in the 400-meter dash, 800-meter sprint-medley relay, high jump and the shuttle-hurdle relay. Her team won bronze in the shuttle-hurdle relay.

After a F-5 tornado tore through Parkersburg last May, killing eight people and destroying the high school, Poppens and her classmates moved into the middle school for their senior year. Aplington-Parkersburg has a running tradition that senior art students who have completed four years of art are able to do an art project on the wall of the school. Poppens has made trips back home over the past few weeks to contribute her art project, which she said she did in memory of her grandfather who passed away in April.

The devastating twister has also taught Poppens to adjust in many other ways.

“It wasn't the typical senior year,” Poppens said. “Most sports we didn't play at home. Our home games in volleyball were in Cedar Falls and for basketball they were at Wartburg. It was different, but we made the most of it. It (the tornado) made our whole community closer. We took more pride in our events. People didn't expect much of us after it happened, but we ended up doing pretty well in everything.”

Those life lessons have helped prepare Poppens for adjustment to college life. She's looking forward to the Elite Camp and getting more acquainted with her future teammates. She's also looking forward to a family trip to Europe later in the summer that is sure to keep her busy as well.

“It's going to be different,” she said. “It's my last year participating (in camp), but I'm in college already. It will be a lot more fun when everyone else gets here, instead of being by myself in my dorm.”