Emily Brunemann Klueh, MSW '16

As an athletic counselor I can make a real difference in the life of a young athlete at the beginning of their career. I feel incredibly lucky to be in this position.

As a former U-M All American swimmer and full-time college student, Emily Klueh knows the challenges of trying to balance an academic workload, college life and the stress of living up to the expectations of coaches, teammates and fans. She attended U-M on a swimming scholarship and holds the Big Ten and Michigan school record in the 500, 1,000, and 1,650-yard freestyle.

After undergrad, she swam professionally while working towards her MSW degree. During her time at the SSW, she acquired a unique field placement with the Performance Psychology and Athletic Counseling Team under Barb Hansen with the support of Greg Harden (both SSW alumni). Klueh drew on her experience as a student athlete to help others at U-M manage the often intense and overwhelming demands of mixing sports with studies. This field placement paved her career path in college-level athletic counseling after graduation from the SSW.

"SSW is absolutely phenomenal.- it was a life-changing experience for me and I'm so thankful for it. I didn't expect to grow as much as I did. It challenged me in more ways than I ever thought possible," Klueh recalls.

Currently, Klueh is a clinical social worker and program coordinator for Athletes Connected at the U-M Athletic Department. Athletes Connected is a relatively new program aimed at destigmatizing help-seeking behaviors among students athletes and normalizing mental health.. This program provides many services; full-time counseling, wellness groups and online resources. It has proven to show significant success among student athletes and their ability and willingness to receive counseling.

Klueh explains, "Research shows that student athletes are less likely to reach out for help when they are struggling, so having an embedded system within the athletic department helps combat that. It makes it easy for student athletes to reach out. We are right there."

Klueh works with students who fall all along the spectrum of health and wellbeing. Athletes are encouraged to access counseling resources before there's a problem. "U-M is one of only a handful of Division-I, -II and -III schools in the country with in-house athletic counseling. I'm very fortunate to work with athletes and have the support of the School of Social Work."

Athletes Connected helps students identify and understand the internal and external factors that affect their mental and physical health, as well as their athletic performance. "As an athletic counselor I can make a real difference in the life of a young athlete at the beginning of their career. I feel incredibly lucky to be in this position."

Klueh, now retired from professional swimming with the USA National Swimming Team continues her involvement in the sport by participating on the USA Swimming Open Water Committee as well as working with USA Swimming on implementing a mental health program on a national swimming level.