Sunnydale Theis
The University of Dallas softball team has many incredible members and several seniors who are graduating this year. Sunnydale Theis has been on the softball team since her freshman year at UD and is preparing to graduate this summer.
You might already know Theis by her friendly, outgoing personality. She is always ready to chat and meet new people on campus. You may also recognize her for her cowgirl boots and cow print clothes. She is definitely Texan through and through, and her outfits always reflect that.
She is a biology major. She can often be found in between labs and walking between the science building and the softball fields, probably in a lab coat or in her softball uniform. Theis is hoping to go to veterinary school at Texas A&M or Oklahoma State University.
When asked about her favorite memory of playing softball with the university, Theis said that she always remembers a time that the whole team stopped at a Buc-ee’s on their way to a game at Southwestern and ran into several TikTok celebrities. She said that it was a really fun and surprising thing to happen.
Theis said that the most difficult part of being on a team while also working hard as a student is finding the balance of time management. It can be a challenge figuring out how to best use the little free time available for students who are taking classes, going to practices, traveling for games, and doing homework. Theis’s two favorite hobbies are knitting and video games.
Her favorite part of being a student at UD was her Lit Trad II class during freshman year. She said that even though everyone jokes that the class is like Dante’s “Inferno,” it was her favorite class because every student’s unique personalities combined to create great conversation and a good class atmosphere. She said, “That was the most fun I have ever had in a classroom.”
Even considering everything that student athletes manage to fit into a day, they still find the time to make meaningful friendships and have fun together. Theis said that the thing she would miss most about being a student at UD is the friendships she made with her teammates, her classmates, and her professors.
The community of UD, where everyone talks to each other and is always friendly and open to new ideas and people is unique.
When asked if she had any advice for the incoming freshmen and new members of the softball team, Theis said that they should definitely make the effort to become friends with their professors. Sometimes being a student athlete is very difficult, and players will have to miss classes or make-up quizzes.
Being besties with the professors will make the whole semester a lot easier. Theis said that some of the people she considers her best friends are the professors she has gone to for help, and talked to during office hours.
Theis has been a very prominent presence on campus, in the classroom, on the softball field, and in all the friendships she has made. She will be missed next year, but hopefully she will have a great time starting veterinary school applications!