Basketball
Favorite athlete: Misty May-Treanor
Favorite team: University of Maryland Women’s Basketball (Go Lady Terps)
Favorite memory: Making it to the playoffs my junior year
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Any practice/game with my best friend Maura Ryan is equally as funny as it is embarrassing. Just ask our coaches.
Music on iPhone: The 1975, Kendrick Lamar, alt-J, Fleetwood Mac
Future plans: Attend the University of Maryland or Temple to study political science and possibly law, then become a lobbyist or a campaign manager
Favorite motto: “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, it’s to create something that will.” –Anonymous
One goal before turning 30: Be debt free
One thing people don’t know about me: I love guacamole
By Mary Jane Souder
Briana Vetter has her sights set on a career as a lobbyist. Or, at the very least, pursuing a career that will make a difference in the political process.
The Springfield senior is president of the school’s Youth And Government (YAG) Club where she has come to understand the legislative process in a way that many do not. Vetter’s passion is unmistakable.
“Just learning the whole legislative process and how our government works was so eye opening to me,” she said. “I think it’s something everyone should know about.
“I think civics courses should be mandatory for all students. For me, it was really eye opening just seeing how it works, and it made me decide that I care and want other people to care about it too. It just made me realize if you care about an issue enough, you have to act on it yourself. You can’t wait for someone else to take care of it.”
Leadership skills come naturally to Vetter, who has been president of her class the past two years and is a tri-captain of the Spartans’ basketball team, and any childhood aspirations she may have had to one day be a teacher fell by the wayside quickly when she became immersed in the legislative process with YAG.
Every Monday morning, Vetter leads the 7 a.m. meetings of the Youth And Government Club, one of the school’s largest clubs with close to 120 members.
“I help the younger kids write their own legislations, I run the meetings, I plan them,” Vetter said. “It’s definitely a lot of work. It’s one of the biggest roles I have, but it’s really satisfying to do it because I’m going to study political science in college.
“It’s also really satisfying to see the younger kids start to understand the legislative process and how democracy works, and that’s something I really like doing.”
The YAG delegations from schools across the state meet in the fall and winter to elect state-wide positions and write legislation and then converge on the capitol in spring.
“The YMCA rents it out for the weekend,” Vetter explained. “There are committee chairs, there’s a mock speaker of the house, there’s a mock speaker of the senate.
“In the winter, you bring your legislation together and you meet in committees to edit it, so in the spring it’s the best it can be. You write your own legislation and you get to debate it on the actual capitol floor.”
Last year, Vetter introduced a bill to reduce the number of fire drills in school from once a month to twice a semester.
“It passed through my committee, but it wasn’t really debatable, so it didn’t make it to the house floor,” she said. “Your legislation can be about anything that’s a state issue.”
With the goal of pursuing a career as a lobbyist or campaign manager, Vetter plans to study political science – and possibly law - at either Temple University or the University of Maryland.
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Vetter’s introduction to the world of competitive sports came in fifth grade when she began playing CYO basketball and volleyball. She added softball the following year.
“I wanted to continue playing volleyball, but my high school only has a basketball team,” she said. “I didn’t want to stick with softball because I didn’t really like it, so I just stuck with basketball in high school.
“A lot of my friends played basketball, and I just thought it was a lot of fun. It was my favorite sport out of the three I’d done.”
Vetter was captain of the junior varsity basketball teams both her sophomore and junior years, and so effective was she that coach Laurie Kristiniak was sorry to see her move up to the varsity.
“She had a full understanding of what we were doing and that was nice,” the Spartans’ assistant coach said. “She’s a very smart girl who has quite a sense of humor.”
As for playing jayvee through her junior year, Vetter – who brings a refreshing philosophy to sports – didn’t mind a bit.
“I like to do leadership things, and it was fun leading the younger girls,” she said. “I didn’t really mind because I got a lot of playing time. That was the whole point for me – just getting our there and having fun. It didn’t really matter to me if it was varsity or not.”
This winter, Vetter is a tri-captain of the varsity along with senior Maura Ryan – her best friend since elementary school – and junior Molly Dugan. She suffered a setback when she was sidelined three weeks at the start of the season with a pulled muscle in her back.
“It was pretty disappointing because the first three weeks are usually the toughest and they have the most conditioning, so when I came back, it was definitely a setback because a lot of the girls were ahead of me at that point,” Vetter said. “It was really disappointing, but I still came and did the book at games, and I still was a part of the team during those three weeks because I didn’t want to miss out.”
Coach Bill Krewson was looking to use Vetter as a backup to Ryan under the basket.
“She’s starting to come along now,” the Spartans’ coach said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get her into some of the games to relieve Maura.
“As we like to say, she plays tall, but she’s not tall.”
Vetter had a big moment in the Spartans’ 77-71 recent upset of Cheltenham, completing a three-point play down the stretch.
“She comes in and practices every day and really gives an effort preparing the girls for the games,” Krewson said. “She’s a good (communicator), and she’s a good role model.
“She works hard, she’s very smart, and she helps the younger kids.”
Vetter volunteers her time to work at Krewson’s basketball clinics, and last year ran the Spartan Survivor, a day of competition for the middle school.
An excellent student, the Springfield senior – who boasts a 4.19 GPA and takes three AP courses - is a member of the National Honor.
“She’s a role model captain,” Krewson said. “She’s just a great kid.”
