Love what you do. 

If Emmanuel senior Jami Giarrizzo could give an incoming student a piece of advice, that would be it. 

Originally from Clarksville, TN. Jami transferred to Emmanuel as a sophomore but quickly found community on the Clay Target Shooting team. 

A Business Major with a minor in Agriculture, Jami has enjoyed her classes, but her Agriculture Operations and Experience class with Mr. Wayne Randall sticks out. 

"I swapped my minors last semester so, I'm just getting into my Ag classes," she said. "My favorite right now is Ag Operations with Mr. Randall. We get to travel to different places, aren't in the classroom much and overall, he's a great teacher."

Following graduation, Jami feels God calling her into the Horticulture field.

So, how does she manage keeping stellar grades while participating in a year-round sport?

"You have to stay on top of your work always," she said. "I like to utilize the van and car rides to get work done when we're gone, but I tend to stay ahead and never wait until a due date to get things done. I prioritize my work over a good bit of stuff, while allowing myself the mental relaxation of taking time to do what I want to do. It's 100% worth it."

Several people have impacted Jami's Emmanuel journey, but none more than her Clay Target coaches, John and Gina Shealy.

"They take such good care of us," she said. "They are blessings from God, and we are fortunate to have them. They pour into us like we're their own and have taught me so much. I love shooting for Emmanuel and shooting for them. They'll say it's our team, but we're shooting for them."

As a team, the Lions take every shoot one at a time, but their goal is to bring home hardware at Nationals in March.  

"Nationals is coming up in March and it's a big shoot," she said. "We're preparing for it now, especially since we are technically Division I, with 21 shooters on the team. Division 1 is a different game, it will be tough, but we have to keep focused and better ourselves and each other. We can't get there without each other.  


If she could give a piece of advice to an incoming student athlete, it would be to live where your feet are.

"If you're playing a sport, give it your all," she said. "Most of you have four years with your team. Absorb every minute of it. It flies by, so don't wish it by. Take in everything but prioritize yourself as well."

Congratulations, Jami for being the September Scholar Athlete of the Month!