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Kara, a senior at Drake University, discusses her favorite place on campus, the Knapp Center. She loves the spaciousness and the special feeling it gives her. Kara's favorite experience was during a postseason tournament where they set attendance records. The construction at the Knapp Center has made her love it even more. It became an important place for her during her sophomore year when she could go there every day and build relationships with her teammates. The atmosphere during games is exciting with music and a hyped-up crowd. Kara describes the feeling of being on the court as a dream come true. She emphasizes that the Knapp Center is open to everyone, not just athletes, and is a great place to escape and reflect. Hi, I'm Kasey Fortune, and I am a freshman from Wisconsin studying kinesiology. I'm here in the podcast studio of Meredith Hall talking to my friend, Kara. Kara, can you introduce yourself for listeners with your name, major, and year in college? Hi, I am Kara. I am a senior here at Drake, and I am studying elementary education and special education. Okay, so really quick, what brought you here to Drake? Originally, it was volleyball, where I met my wonderful friend Kasey here, but also the academics. Okay, so on this episode of This Drake University Life, we're talking about favorite places on campus. Can you tell me what yours is? Oh, I would have to say my favorite place is the Knapp Center. Why is this place so special to you? Well, I get to go to it every day to be able to practice, and then we play our home games there, and it's just a really cool environment. Okay, tell me about your favorite experience in the Knapp. My favorite experience would probably be around a year ago at this time, we had hosted a postseason tournament, the championship, and we had set attendance records, and it was just really cool to be a part of that environment with so many people cheering for our team. Yeah, for sure. So, what was your first experience in the Knapp Center? It was when I was around 17 years old, I came on my first college visit, and they took me into the Knapp Center, and I just fell in love with the feeling of being in there. What did you like about it? I just love how much room there was, and I don't know, the lighting just kind of makes you feel like the center of attention, and from the court looking up, there's just so much room, and I don't know, I love it. I know the Knapp Center has changed a little bit while you've been here, so has that impacted your opinion of it at all? Right, it has actually made me love it more, because it made the court, which we use the most, the main point of it, and the seats are made to sit up and look at the court, and in the past, it was just all kind of one level, so the construction over the past couple years has really made me love it more. Yeah, for sure. So, when did the Knapp Center start to hold so much importance to you on campus? When did it become one of your favorite places to go, one of your safe spaces? So, I came into college during COVID in 2020, so we were really tied down to our dorms, and we weren't really allowed to go anywhere, so starting my sophomore year, when things really started to open up, and that was a place we could go every day, and then I just made so many relationships with my teammates in there, because we work with them, so being able to go there my sophomore year and every day on for my career has just made it so special to me. Yeah, so can you compare the atmosphere of games versus the atmosphere of just practicing in the Knapp Center, because obviously that's very different, you know, depending on the situation. Right, so during games, we get to play our music, and we get to play our hype video and run out in fog and blue lights and everything, so it just makes you get really excited for what's about to happen, and in practice, you just kind of play like it's a normal day, so it's still exciting to be on that big court, and it makes you feel all cool and stuff, but really during the game, when they change the lights and you run out in fog and you hear the crowd riled up, it's just a lot of fun. So how would you describe the feeling of being on the bench or being on the court in the Knapp Center during game time? So it's a very loud environment, and we have even gotten comments from other coaches in our league saying that we are the loudest bench, so we just have some of these crazy cheers off the court, like we're barking at other teams because we're the dogs, and we're throwing our teammate and chugging like trains, so it's just really fun to be super loud, but it's not super obnoxious because the crowd is already so loud as well. And what does it feel like for you in those moments? I know we talked about how little girls look up to that feeling their entire lives if you're playing volleyball, so how does that feel? I know you've talked about being able to play with your friends and all of that, so is it kind of an awestruck moment where you get to do it every single week and you're like, wow, this is what people dream about? Right, so obviously there's only six people on the court that play, but everyone on the team really has a big part in it, so whether you're getting a point on the court or cheering on the bench, it just really kind of is a dream come true to be a part of this experience. Dream come true is probably the exact way I would say it. Now that we have heard a little bit about why Kara loves this place so much and the feelings that come along with the environment, let's take an adventure there ourselves. OK, so I am currently headed to the Nap Center. The easiest way to get to the Nap Center is starting from the freshman dorm. You want to find the pathway in between Olin Hall and Collier Strips, and you're going to keep on walking on that pathway until you see the plaza and that really pretty piece of artwork, and you're going to turn left, and then there's going to be a big billboard that's lit up, and it'll probably have some type of sport or meal on it, and then you are at the Nap Center, and if you keep walking straight, you will hit the Rec Center, where you can also do a lot of other activities. OK, so considering these things you've told us, what's the main thing that makes this place so special to you? I definitely love that our locker room is right next to the court because it helps me make so many memories with my teammates. We're just in there all the time, cracking jokes, having fun, and when we're having a serious talk, we can do that too, but this place has really allowed me to create a lot of relationships that will last a lifetime. Yeah, for sure. Is there anything else you'd like to add about your favorite place on campus? I think I just want to overemphasize the fact that it is open to everyone, not just athletes. I feel like some of my friends in some of my classes, they're like, oh, I can't go to the Nap Center, it's just really only for athletes, but there's just so much to do and so much to look, and if you ever just need a place to get away to as a good place, just kind of go and get lost in your thoughts, but in a good way. Beautiful. Thank you so much for coming in today, Karen. No problem.