LORETTO, Pa. – Nearly seven months ago, Eugenia Kenny arrived at Saint Francis with a name that associated her with field hockey. Now, she's known well beyond her respective sport – adding "4.0 student" and "musically excellent" to her reputation.
In just her first semester in Loretto, Eugenia posted a 4.0 GPA while beginning her endeavors in international studies, landing her on the Saint Francis University President's List. The academic performance also placed her on the NFHCA All-Academic Team, one of 16 Red Flash field hockey student-athletes to earn recognition. Academic success, check. Athletic success, check.
To balance these is challenging, but what if you sprinkle musical abilities into the mix?
February 6, 2021 – Eugenia Kenny takes the stage for SFU's Got Talent, with a guitar over her shoulder and a sheet of music in front of her. The curtains open to a roar of excitement from the audience. After a brief moment, Eugenia jumps right into "Riptide" by Vance Joy, an eye-opening, perfectly executed rendition that sounded as powerful as the original. Strumming the guitar and hitting every vocal note, the three-minute song concluded with the cheers of a concert.
Not only did Eugenia sit on stage confidently for the entire solo, but it was one of the first times she has ever performed in that capacity.
"I was 16 when I started playing the guitar. We were in Brazil, and we had the time because it was raining all day, so I picked it up and started playing it, and haven't stopped since then."
The singing was nothing new for Eugenia, though, as she has been involved in performing arts for nearly her whole life.
"I've had an artistic side of me for most of my life, I've done theater lessons since I was six years old, and with that comes music… I really enjoy doing that," Kenny mentioned.
Academia, athletics, performing arts. Three of the most prevalent industries of life, and Kenny has her fingerprints on each. One might suggest plenty of natural talent, one might suggest hard-work. Eugenia believes in both.
Eugenia's passion for all facets of her life is what she believes helps her in her success.
"Both of these activities [music and field hockey] I've worked really hard for, and I'm passionate about both of them. Just like with music, I've played field hockey for a while now, and both of them require a lot of hard work. You have to give the best you've got every time you perform a song or step onto a field."
Kenny does not plan to slow down in any of these paths, with four years of athletic eligibility to go along with a love for music and a knack for academics.
Now, having already proved grades and guitar, the last thing Eugenia has left is goals, and that will come soon enough.
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