Emily Zaslawsky joined the Greenhill community this school year as High Performance Center Staff.
Zaslawsky discovered her passion for sports at a young age. Growing up, she played soccer but later transitioned to volleyball.
“Soccer is a bit easier of a sport to play when you’re younger as it is mostly hand-eye coordination. So as my athleticism and general coordination improved, I was ready to start volleyball,” Zaslawsky said.
In high school, Zaslawsky and her teammates won both state and national championships, which aided her pursuit to continue playing in college.
“I fell in love with the Atlantic Coast Conference for their balance of academics and athletics, with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill being my top choice,” Zaslawsky said.
She continued her athletic journey playing volleyball for her dream school, UNC.
“My entire high school and club team went on to play volleyball in college, and even a few made the Olympic team and are still on the team,” Zaslawsky said.
When she was not playing, she coached youth volleyball players. She also studied business, exercise, sports science and sports administration.
After graduating from UNC, she shifted from athletics to working in finance. She spent ten years working as an Investment Manager, helping those who lost a family member understand their options for managing their assets.
She later returned her attention to supporting students through the mental challenges of being an athlete and started a non-profit organization dedicated to this cause.
“I found I had a hard time with my athletic identity and the retirement of it. I was looking to help more athletes go through that, so I started speaking at schools to help them prepare for the mental health aspects that a lot of times the coaches don’t talk about,” Zaslawsky said.
Her husband’s job brought her to Dallas where she began researching schools and was drawn to Greenhill.
“Looking at Greenhill’s athletic and academic programs I specifically felt called [because of] some of the similarities I [experienced] when growing up with pressures of perfectionism and lots of pressure from parents,” Zaslawsky said.
Zaslawsky felt she could help by sharing her athletic experiences. When Zaslawsky applied for a job at Greenhill, Head of Athletics and Physical Education Jarrett Shine says he thought that she was exactly what the department was looking for.
“We needed someone who we knew could relate to the girl athletes on campus, so she was a really good candidate for that,” Shine said.
Junior varsity volleyball player Zoe Gillen-Malveaux is led by Zaslawsky during in-season HPC sessions and says she gives good advice due to her experiences that came from playing the sport at a collegiate level.
“I think adding Coach [Zaslawsky] was a really good addition. Having another female coach was a good add to HPC,” Gillen-Malveaux said. “I think having an HPC coach that has played at a high level helps with your own aspirations and as a role model [you can] look up to.”
Gillen-Malveaux says Zaslawsky is “uplifting, supportive and has a good spirit.”
According to Zaslawsky, one of her goals for the year is to build more relationships with specific athletes and watch them develop. She says she is excited to attend games and increase school spirit.
“I’m really enjoying [Greenhill],” she said. “I’ve found the kids to be much more respectful to leaders of authority than when I was in high school, and I’m really impressed with the facilities here [such as] the fields and weight room.”
