Ohio State center Elsa Lemmilä (12) subtly celebrates a free throw during the game against Ball State Dec. 10, 2024. The Buckeyes defeated the Cardinals 80-48. Credit: Sandra Fu | Managing Photo Editor
At 5 p.m., much of the Ohio State women’s basketball team heads into recovery to do some cold therapy, stretching or foam rolling after a five-hour practice.
But Sophomore center Elsa Lemmilä heads in the opposite direction–to her apartment, where she spends the rest of the night studying for her next environmental engineering exam.
Balancing life as a Division I basketball player and one of Ohio State’s most demanding majors takes structure and focus. Leaning on color-coded calendars and help from the Student-Athlete Support Services Office, Lemillä manages to keep her jump shot and GPA target as she works toward a future in consulting architectural firms after basketball.
“I really like learning the things that I learn, and I love basketball,” Lemmilä said. “It makes things 100 times easier.”
A native of Espoo, Finland, Lemillä played with the Finnish national team at the age of 16. She won a U18 European Championship in 2022, leading the league with two blocks per game.
Coming to Ohio State, the center played in 32 games her first year, leading the team with 60 blocks. She also recorded five or more rebounds for 16 games, establishing herself as a key defensive player.
But academics were also a key part of her selection of Ohio State. Her passion for climate change and sustainability developed in high school inspired her to declare a STEM major.
“I really knew I wanted to do something with the environment,” Lemmilä said. “Global warming is one of the biggest problems that our society is facing and I think it’s important that we address it.”
During the fall semester, Lemmilä’s day consists of in-person classes from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., practice from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., and homework the rest of the night.
She spends her Sundays reviewing the week ahead to schedule time on her calendar for different assignments.
Environmental engineering demands hours of lab work, detailed reports and complex problem-solving- all on top of a basketball schedule that already fills her days.
“It’s just a lot of planning,” Lemmilä said. “I had one midterm last week and three this week, so I had to prepare beforehand on the weekend to complete homework, so I had time to study during the week.”
While travelling, Lemmilä benefits from the academic support system that travels with the team. Through SASSO, Lemmilä has access to academic counselors who will coordinate tutors, send travel letters to professors for missed classes, and hold study halls on the road to ensure athletes are completing all missing assignments in time.
Alexa Webb, associate director of SASSO, described Lemmilä as “responsible and proactive” and said she is impressed with her ability to balance a highly competitive sport and a strenuous field of study.
“She’s the type of student who has already figured out what she needs to take, and we’re just talking through any complex or what may need to change,” Webb said.
Despite Lemmilä’s challenging response to managing both engineering and basketball, she said she has learned to put less pressure on herself to perform perfectly in both fields.
“I’ve definitely learned to be more lenient,” Lemmilä said. “I don’t always have to get the perfect grade, because obviously I have a lot less time, then some other people might and I need to understand that.”
Lemmilä knows she can’t play basketball forever, but she said that in the future, consulting with architectural firms and exploring the environmental design and sustainability of buildings intrigues her.
“Doing a major like [environmental engineering] means you have to have a very structured everyday life, and for me, basketball and having this major go hand in hand,” Lemmilä said. “When I work hard in school, I also find it easier to work even harder in practice.”
