HAWK TALK

November 2014

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89 All alone, he went to Duane Banks Field, which would eventually become his spring playground. Goodman sat in the stands behind the home dugout and imagined wearing a Hawkeye uniform. "I felt comfortable," Goodman said. "I felt this is the place that I want to go to school. is is the place where I want to graduate. is is the place I want to chase my baseball dreams." Comfort turned to confidence as Goodman was going to tackle one of the biggest challenges for any UI first-year student: understanding the Cambus system. He refused to walk back to Slater Hall, instead he hopped on a bus that provides campus transportation. Within minutes he was lost. "I'm on the other side of Hillcrest (Hall) and I have no sense of direction of how to get back to Slater Hall," Goodman said. "I'm running around, sweating now because it's August and it's pretty hot. Once again, not a great experience, but I eventually get back and I laugh now because I don't think I could get lost on this campus if I tried. It is funny to me that I can be so comfortable now and this is what I call home." Goodman has learned more than the Cambus system in three years as a Hawkeye. He has grown in the classroom, on the baseball field, and as a person. "I learned that wearing the Tigerhawk means a lot to me, that I get to be a part of something much bigger than myself," Goodman said. "e things I say and do don't just affect me, but it affects this university. e pride I have developed over the years here as a Hawkeye has been massive." Goodman has grown up at the University of Iowa. "I was born and raised in Apple Valley, Minnesota," University of Iowa senior baseball player Kris Goodman said. "But I truly believe I grew up at the University of Iowa." Goodman was the featured student-athlete speaker at the UI athletic department all-staff meeting Oct. 15 in the Feller Club Room inside Carver- Hawkeye Arena. A 6-foot-1, 180-pound outfielder, Goodman has played in 135 games for the Hawkeyes, starting 116 times. Last season he batted .284 with eight doubles, four home runs, and 28 RBIs. Goodman said he was excited to talk about what "My Iowa" means, and share his experience of development during his time at the UI. "If you were to ask me (to do) this four years ago, there is no chance that I would be able to do this," Goodman said. "It's funny how many things can change in four years." College life for Goodman started more like a dropped fly ball than a walk-off home run. Move-in day was chaos, he said. He lugged his belongings to third floor of Slater Hall, only to be told he would be living temporarily on fih floor. "I was in shambles," Goodman said. "I felt like nothing was going my way at this time. It wasn't a great first experience." He held back tears (his mother Dianne did not) as his parents le to return to Minnesota. "All I can think about is I just want to go home," Goodman said.

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