Indiana University Athletics
Elizabeth Asdell Finds Joy in Helping Others
11/12/2018 9:55:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
For Indiana senior Elizabeth Asdell her life has included twists and turns. In high school, Asdell didn't plan on playing collegiate volleyball and within the last year Asdell decided to change her post-collegiate plans.
Asdell, a native of South Bend, Ind., grew up in a family that values service to others. Her mother, Rulan is a dental hygienist and her father Jay an oral surgeon.
Growing up, Asdell heard her parents talk about their patients and the importance of the overall health of society. There would be times when her father, who is on call, would get a call at 3:00 a.m. and have to respond after someone flew through a windshield.
Asdell learned it's not always pretty, but you work hard to provide care for others.
"It's not always pretty, but you work so hard to make sure that everyone is ok and your patients are ok and their health is the most important," she said. "You might have to stay after or longer, doing extra, you do whatever you can to help your patients."
Asdell originally had planned to go to medical school, but had a life changing experience the summer after her junior year at Indiana University.
She participated in the Indiana Mission of Mercy (MOM) Project. The event is a large scale dental clinic that provides free oral health care to patients of all ages who cannot otherwise afford or access care. Since 2000, the nationwide program has helped more than 222,000 patients and provided nearly $142 million in free dental services.
The inaugural Indiana event took place in 2015 and happens every two years over two-days at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Asdell worked in the oral surgery area and took patients to their proper section, giving them instructions and keeping them moving. The dental providers took out 300 teeth in a day.
The main takeaway for Asdell was seeing how many people took advantage of the care and how much they appreciated it. One man had a toothache for nearly two years since he couldn't get access to care.
"I think the biggest aspect was how much benefit it had on their lives," Asdell said. "People were so thankful and they took their entire families there. I liked the takeaway feeling of being able to help them and make sure they are educated."
Following that experience Asdell shadowed three dentists and witnessed everything from the interactions between the dentists and their patients to what the dentist's day-to-day activities included.
For Elizabeth Asdell, a Human Biology major, dentistry is in the DNA of her family. Asdell has applied to dental school at Indiana University and if she enrolls would be the fourth generation of her family to attend IU dental school.
The same care that Asdell appreciates about the dental profession can be seen in her leadership and personality with her teammates on and off the volleyball court.
And she almost didn't end up playing at IU.
Early in her high school career at Mishawaka Marian, Asdell considered volleyball fun, but her focus was on school and taking advances placement classes. In her junior year, she decided she was going to IU to be an elite student and possibly play volleyball on the side.
Going into her senior year a coach sat her down and asked her why she wasn't going to continue to play. She didn't have an answer, but was persuaded she could do school and volleyball.
Her father Jay helped get hours of film together and sent it in and she wound up with a spot on the Indiana volleyball team.
Fast forward to her senior year at Indiana and Asdell said she has learned a lot about herself.
"I think the most meaningful process about college is that you figure out yourself more than anything else," she said. "Everything is going on around you and you figure out who you are. Everyday it's a privilege to be here and go to school and be a part of a team."
If you look at her numbers on the court, Asdell has gone from 136 kills her freshman season to 261 her junior season and has a total of 753 career kills. In her freshman campaign, she tallied 43 blocks. The next two years 64 and 62 and is on pace to exceed those numbers this year.
Those numbers have helped contribute to an improvement from 1-19 in the Big Ten a season ago to currently 6-10 in the best conference in the country.
Looking at the numbers tells only part of the story. Asdell has been part of a changing culture under first-year head coach Steve Aird.
"I think culture is the most changing thing and thing that needs to change," Asdell said. "It's not going to happen overnight, but little things that are implemented. Being good teammates and good friends, being supportive, being good students are all part of it. It's an all-encompassing culture that I think is going to continue to grow."
"I'm going to be proud of all of the hard work and the betterment of this program," Asdell added. "I think on a whole, leaving these girls in a place where they can grow even more as teammates and friends and students. I want them to know that the sky is the limit now and hard work and dedication can bring you anywhere."
Everything for Asdell comes back to her family and parents, who have traveled the country these last four years to watch her do something she loves.
"I could not have done this without my family," she said. "Their support has meant the world to me and there are ways I can never repay them in that regard. They are my support in everything I do."
No matter if she has a great match or not, her family is there to support her and tell her next match. For Asdell it's all about the process and the journey.
"Each day it's one percent better," she said. "It's focusing on little bits that end up being huge amounts. That is the mindset I've had. It's tomorrow. You wake up tomorrow and you do the same thing, if not better and if not harder."
Asdell, a native of South Bend, Ind., grew up in a family that values service to others. Her mother, Rulan is a dental hygienist and her father Jay an oral surgeon.
Growing up, Asdell heard her parents talk about their patients and the importance of the overall health of society. There would be times when her father, who is on call, would get a call at 3:00 a.m. and have to respond after someone flew through a windshield.
Asdell learned it's not always pretty, but you work hard to provide care for others.
"It's not always pretty, but you work so hard to make sure that everyone is ok and your patients are ok and their health is the most important," she said. "You might have to stay after or longer, doing extra, you do whatever you can to help your patients."
Asdell originally had planned to go to medical school, but had a life changing experience the summer after her junior year at Indiana University.
She participated in the Indiana Mission of Mercy (MOM) Project. The event is a large scale dental clinic that provides free oral health care to patients of all ages who cannot otherwise afford or access care. Since 2000, the nationwide program has helped more than 222,000 patients and provided nearly $142 million in free dental services.
The inaugural Indiana event took place in 2015 and happens every two years over two-days at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Asdell worked in the oral surgery area and took patients to their proper section, giving them instructions and keeping them moving. The dental providers took out 300 teeth in a day.
The main takeaway for Asdell was seeing how many people took advantage of the care and how much they appreciated it. One man had a toothache for nearly two years since he couldn't get access to care.
"I think the biggest aspect was how much benefit it had on their lives," Asdell said. "People were so thankful and they took their entire families there. I liked the takeaway feeling of being able to help them and make sure they are educated."
Following that experience Asdell shadowed three dentists and witnessed everything from the interactions between the dentists and their patients to what the dentist's day-to-day activities included.
For Elizabeth Asdell, a Human Biology major, dentistry is in the DNA of her family. Asdell has applied to dental school at Indiana University and if she enrolls would be the fourth generation of her family to attend IU dental school.
The same care that Asdell appreciates about the dental profession can be seen in her leadership and personality with her teammates on and off the volleyball court.
And she almost didn't end up playing at IU.
Early in her high school career at Mishawaka Marian, Asdell considered volleyball fun, but her focus was on school and taking advances placement classes. In her junior year, she decided she was going to IU to be an elite student and possibly play volleyball on the side.
Going into her senior year a coach sat her down and asked her why she wasn't going to continue to play. She didn't have an answer, but was persuaded she could do school and volleyball.
Her father Jay helped get hours of film together and sent it in and she wound up with a spot on the Indiana volleyball team.
Fast forward to her senior year at Indiana and Asdell said she has learned a lot about herself.
"I think the most meaningful process about college is that you figure out yourself more than anything else," she said. "Everything is going on around you and you figure out who you are. Everyday it's a privilege to be here and go to school and be a part of a team."
If you look at her numbers on the court, Asdell has gone from 136 kills her freshman season to 261 her junior season and has a total of 753 career kills. In her freshman campaign, she tallied 43 blocks. The next two years 64 and 62 and is on pace to exceed those numbers this year.
Those numbers have helped contribute to an improvement from 1-19 in the Big Ten a season ago to currently 6-10 in the best conference in the country.
Looking at the numbers tells only part of the story. Asdell has been part of a changing culture under first-year head coach Steve Aird.
"I think culture is the most changing thing and thing that needs to change," Asdell said. "It's not going to happen overnight, but little things that are implemented. Being good teammates and good friends, being supportive, being good students are all part of it. It's an all-encompassing culture that I think is going to continue to grow."
"I'm going to be proud of all of the hard work and the betterment of this program," Asdell added. "I think on a whole, leaving these girls in a place where they can grow even more as teammates and friends and students. I want them to know that the sky is the limit now and hard work and dedication can bring you anywhere."
Everything for Asdell comes back to her family and parents, who have traveled the country these last four years to watch her do something she loves.
"I could not have done this without my family," she said. "Their support has meant the world to me and there are ways I can never repay them in that regard. They are my support in everything I do."
No matter if she has a great match or not, her family is there to support her and tell her next match. For Asdell it's all about the process and the journey.
"Each day it's one percent better," she said. "It's focusing on little bits that end up being huge amounts. That is the mindset I've had. It's tomorrow. You wake up tomorrow and you do the same thing, if not better and if not harder."
Players Mentioned
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