Women's Athlete Spotlight: Lillia Rather balances life with discipline and a strong mind

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Lillia Rather is a senior on the Viterbo University Women's Golf team, and she wants people to know that being a female athlete is about strength, leadership, and discipline.

The Waukesha, Wisconsin native has spent her time at Viterbo culminating these qualities into a successful career, both as an athlete and a student. On the course, Lillia has earned All-Conference honors in all three years as a V-Hawk. Her freshman year, she earned Second Team All-Conference. In her sophomore year, she was named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention list, and last year, she earned a spot on the Second Team All-Conference.

She knows that she didn't get to where she is today by chance.

"Being a female student-athlete means balancing dedication and passion in athletics and academics while embracing a competitive drive," says Lillia. "I want to prove to myself and others that I can succeed mentally and physically, going through the demands of each, while showing up for my teammates who are going through similar experiences,".

Lillia knows that mental strength and discipline are required to balance athletics and academics at the collegiate level. On top of that, Lillia has been an involved member of the campus. Lillia serves as the secretary of both the Delta Mu Delta Business Honors Society as well as the Business Leadership Club. She is also a writing tutor for the HUB for Student Success on campus.

Her hard work and dedication has led to successes in her life that she is proud of.

"I'm most proud of placing in the top five individually at conference my junior year," says Lillia. "Academically, I'm really proud of maintaining a strong GPA while balancing a double major, two jobs, athletics, and involvement in campus organizations,".

Off the course, Lillia continues to thrive in the classroom. While double-majoring in Business Administration and Spanish at the university, she has earned Academic All-Conference, NAIA Scholar Athlete, and CSC Academic All-District. She has maintained a high standard for herself, and she wants that to be the legacy that she leaves behind following her final season.

"I hope to make an impact by leading not just with athletic ability, but internal strength and discipline," says Lillia. "Being a student athlete is all encompassing; it's about the relationships, community, and memories. I want to help create a supportive community where female athletes can achieve at the highest levels by pursuing passion, growing together, reaching athletic success, and leaving with know regrets,".

Reflecting on her time at Viterbo, Lillia looks back with fond memories and feels that her experiences have prepared her for her next steps in life. She hopes to inspire the next generation of student athletes by following her advice.

"Be yourself. Everyone has a role to play on the team, and you never know when someone is looking to you for answers or leadership. Someone will always be looking up to you," says Lillia. "Enjoy the experience handed to you because the teammates, coaches, competitions, opportunities, and resources you have now won't always last forever,".

Lillia and the Viterbo University Women's Golf team will return to the course on March 30 when they travel to Hawkeye Community College to compete in the Redtail Spring Open. To keep up with the V-Hawks, following the team on Instagram (@viterbowomensgolf).