Kristina Conrad Smith, Volleyball, 2003-06
7th All-Time in Assists at San José State – 2,548 career assists
Paths. We choose and take different paths throughout our life, not always knowing where they may take us. Whenever you think you know the path to take, life gives you twists and turns you don't see coming, but the new path is much more prosperous and successful for you. That's what happened to former San José State volleyball setter Kristina Conrad.
Volleyball Path - Setter Please
Conrad grew up in the volleyball world as her mom, Karin, played collegiately at Santa Clara University and took her as a child to women's tournaments. When it came time for Kristina to play, she was an outside hitter for her high school and club teams.
How does someone who did not play setter in high school or club become one in college? And then finish as one of the top-10 setters in San José State history?
"When Gary (Mano, former assistant) saw me play at a club tournament, I was setting that morning for my club team because our setter was taking the SATs. Otherwise, I played outside hitter for my team. I just enjoyed setting and being utilized wherever I was needed on the team.
"I played outside hitter and setter while at San José State. I loved setting and was ok not getting kills. I am a planner and think of myself as a leader. I enjoyed helping the team get where we needed to be, setting other people up for success and not necessarily myself. I could get just as excited with someone else getting a kill off of one of my sets then me getting the kill. It is exciting to be still in the top-10 in assists."
Kristina loved her team and teammates while playing close to home at San José State. She is still in touch with most of them through Facebook, texting and phone calls.
"One highlight of my career came in my first match when I started at setter against my mom's alma mater (Santa Clara). That was a really neat. I cannot imagine the experiences with the friends that I made during my four years as a Spartan."
Next Path - Graduation
Kristina graduated from San José State in 2007 with a degree in leadership and recreation with a minor in business. She really wanted to a corporate event planner, working events, conferences and trade shows. But a recession hit right after graduation, and she had to make a new path for her career.
"It was rough trying to find a job after graduation as no one was really hiring. I moved to Oregon and eventually to Washington."
Next Path – Husband, Moving Again
With her move to Washington, Kristina met her husband, Kevin Smith, who was in the Army at Ft. Lewis, Wash. After his medical discharge, the pair decided to move to South Carolina, where Kevin's family lives.
"We had been dating about a year, and Kevin really wanted to go back to school at Clemson. He took me back for a visit, and I fell in love with the area and how gorgeous it is. The cost of houses here are what a closet costs in San Jose."
Kristina and Kevin have lived in South Carolina for almost nine years and married in 2014.
Career Path
Kristina currently works as the merchandising manager for Lowe's in Seneca, S.C. She helps plan out all the projects that are going on throughout the store, including a whole store remodel.
"It is a lot of planning. We just got done setting Christmas. I have a team that works for me that executes the plans. I supervise and plan out what my great team's days and weeks will look like."
Family Path - IVF treatments
One path that many choose is starting a family. For Kristina and her husband, they had to make choices that included a path of IVF treatments to have a child.
"It has been a journey, quite a process. We were looking at fostering and adopting, and last October, my work announced that they were going to offer fertility benefits."
Her pregnancy announcement has extra meaning for the couple, which led the world know that they are having a little boy due in March 2021.
"The heart is consists of all the needles from all the shots during this process – egg retrieval, two rounds of IVF, and 10 weeks of injections everyday. I AM NOT a needle person."
New Volleyball Path
After moving to South Carolina, Conrad wanted to stay active in the volleyball world. At first she coached for a couple of other clubs. But then parents of a few players wanted her to start her own club, which she did – KC11 Volleyball Club.
"I have 1-2 teams that I coach. It has been an awesome experience even though I took this past season off. I am due in the middle of upcoming club season so I am trying to find some coaches to bring to take a team.
"I like to have my hands in everything, so I have been the head coach for all of my teams. I want the girls to learn and get something out of their club season."
Smith also stays active in the volleyball by working volleyball game days at Clemson University where she works the Instant Replay or as a libero tracker. That also helps her stay in touch with those in the profession.
"I see a lot of coaches I know or players I have played against now coaching. It is such a small community in the volleyball world."
With so many paths taken so far in her life, Kristina lends this advice to today's graduates.
"Make sure you are doing something you enjoy. You spend more than half your day at work so be sure you are not dreading going to work everyday. Enjoy your family and friends!"