Class: Junior
Major: Environmental Studies-Chemistry
Hometown: Seattle, Wash.

After a long day of classes, Friedman sits down at a table in the basement of Reid wearing a forest green fleece and a huge smile.

Why do you like being on the Intramural (IM) committee?

I think it’s important to give back, especially to something that you really like. I have participated in IM stuff pretty extensively, and it seemed like a cool thing to get involved with to help organize and improve the process. It’s something that directly impacts me as a participant, and it’s good to know I can make the experience better for other people as well.

How did you get involved with Intramural Sports?
I played a bunch of different sports my freshman year, and a couple of the people on the committee approached me and asked if I’d be interested in joining the committee. I said yes, filled out the application and got it.

What sports experience have you had previously and now?
I played soccer at my high school, and basketball growing up. I’m playing on the club volleyball team here. IM-wise, I’ve done flag football, soccer, dodgeball, basketball, volleyball and softball. I think that’s it.

Wow. So you really like playing IM sports?
Yeah, I love being athletic, and getting to form a team with friends, just playing alongside people that you know. It’s pretty competitive, and a lot of fun.

What specific things have you done while on the Committee?
It depends on the sport. Historically, there have been six people on the Committee. Usually only one or two are involved with running a given sport in the administrative way. The seniors usually oversee everything, and then delegate responsibilities. Using basketball as an example: I get the forms out to everyone as successfully as I can, collect them, create the schedule for each division, contact the Varsity Basketball players to get volunteers to referee the games. Assigning referees to the games turns out to be much trickier than it should be. Then, when the season’s over, I have the standings, put together the playoffs and order the blue shirts for the champions.

That sounds pretty involved.
Some sports are more [involved] than others. Anything with referees is much more complicated; not only are you dealing with players having conflicts, but the referees do as well, and the communication gets crazy. But usually, once the schedule is made, there is less involvement on our part.

What is your favorite team to play on?
Probably football. That’s something that I never played growing up, so it’s still new and exciting to me, not that other sports aren’t. Those [football] games get pretty competitive, which I love. Really getting to play hard against a lot of other people you know, teams you’ve developed rivalries with, it’s just a much more competitive season than some of the other sports tend to be. Which not everyone likes; some people want a more laid back experience, and there are plenty of other sports that are good for that.

What other activities are you involved with on campus?
Let’s see . . . I’m in the jazz band, club volleyball, I was an RA last year. I inherited the role of organizing the sustainability chair for fraternities and sororities, which is kind of a newer thing; it just got started this year. I’m a member of Phi Delta Theta. Those are the main ones.

What instrument do you play in jazz band?                                        
Trombone. I started in the fourth grade, so I’ve been playing for the greater part of my life.