Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
I looked at my mom and my dad and told them I wanted to go to Creighton. And they said, ‘OK, this is our first visit. We need to do a little bit more research.’ I was like, ‘No, I need to be here.’
By Jon Nyatawa
It was pouring rain outside and Taryn Kloth’s first Olympic match was the very next day.
But she was NOT going to skip the Opening Ceremony.
So, Kloth and her beach volleyball partner, Kristen Nuss, stood on the top deck of the Team USA boat as it cruised down the Seine River on a rainy day in Paris. There were famous athletes everywhere. The cheering crowd, roaring from the shore, nearly brought her to tears. It might have been Kloth’s favorite memory during a trip full of unforgettable moments.
“You're just so proud that you get to be a part of Team USA, and it's such an honor,” Kloth said. “Kristen and I, we were like, ‘Who knows if this is ever going to happen again? This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.’ It was absolutely perfect.”
Kloth, BSBA’18, returned to Creighton’s campus in November — she was honored with a standing ovation at both a Bluejay volleyball match and a men’s basketball game for making history. She’s the first woman from Creighton to ever compete in the Olympics (read more about her journey to beach volleyball stardom).
In a recent interview, Kloth talked about her time in Paris, the good and the bad. She also reflected on the impact Creighton's had on her life and her affinity for her alma mater and its nationally renowned volleyball program. The following questions and answers have been edited for clarity.
You played your Olympics matches in a stadium right underneath the Eiffel Tower. What could you see when you were on the sand?
You get one 30-minute practice on the court, that's it. And right when it hits 10 p.m., the Eiffel Tower just lights up.
We were in the middle of our practice — we were getting served — and I just turned and I looked. I almost got decked by a serve because I was just mesmerized. And then it was like, ‘OK, now you have to go play.’ Then the very next night, it was game time, and they’re call you out. You're representing the United States of America at the Olympics that everybody's watching all around the world. The lights go out, the tower lights up, and they call your name.
There was this moment with LeBron James. What do you remember about that?
Our third game of pool play was against China. There was a rain out. They paused the match. We got shuttled into the back corner. We had no idea if we were going to keep playing or not. Everybody (in the stands) had to leave except for LeBron (James) because he was in a suite and his driver had lost his keys. It was not safe for him to go out into a huge crowd of people. So, he stayed up there. And then by the time we were actually playing, they found the keys. But he was like, ‘I'm staying.’ His daughter is a huge volleyball fan.
The TV broadcast caught a lot of funny moments. I think LeBron was dancing at one point and obviously rooting for you. Did you actually see him at the end? You waved.
See him? Yeah. Oh, you can tell it's LeBron. I actually saw him at Opening Ceremonies. I am one of the tallest girls in the room. He turns and looks at me, and he is like, ‘Oh my gosh.’
Unfortunately, on the court, you didn't get the result you wanted to. You and Kristen went 3-0 in pool play but lost in the knockout round of 16, falling short of winning a medal.
That is the really hard part. I struggled with that so much after the loss, because I went in thinking, ‘I'm prepping myself to win a gold medal and anything less than that, I am going to be disappointed.’ And I was so disappointed in myself. I didn't want to claim that I was an Olympian. I didn't want to claim that I was there and failed. And you fail on a national level in front of everybody, and you fail hard. And that was really, really tough for me.
But you have to get up and go do it all over again. Four days later, we played one of the biggest tournaments in the United States. But to get to that point was really tough. Anyway, this is what I tell myself: The Olympics is the one tournament that everybody watches all around the world, but it cannot define your entire career. It was the most amazing event that I've ever played in. Absolutely spectacular, so special.
I think you said something in an interview before the Olympics about not letting it define you, no matter the result. But putting that into practice is difficult.
A lot of self-talk. It truly is just two weeks. It is truly one tournament. It is not who you are for the rest of your life.
I think we can all relate to not achieving our goals or failing, but not in such a public setting. Who do you see counsel from?
I just looked at my team, and I think all I could say was, ‘it's over.’ And I just remember repeating that and I was like, ‘it's over, it's over.’ You can't get that back, and that hurts a lot.
But I do think that you learn so much from it. I mean, that was the most anxiety that you can probably ever put on an athlete's shoulders. ‘Hey, you're going to be playing in the Olympics, right under the Eiffel Tower, at prime time. So, all great things, all amazing things. If you don't get the result, everybody's going to know it as well.
What does it mean to you to see Creighton’s volleyball team continue improving in the years since you left?
I am so proud. Anytime I can say ‘Roll Jays,’ anytime I can say that it was the best decision of my life, to go to Creighton University and to be a Bluejay and to meet my best friends. Creighton was such a good decision for me, and I want all the best for the team. I am going to be cheering so loud for them. I want them to break every record. I want them to just go win it all. And I cannot wait to be the proudest alumna ever.
You were part of the Creighton’s first Elite Eight team, you were on the first Bluejay team to host an NCAA tournament game and you helped Creighton win four BIG EAST regular season championships and four tournament titles. When you and your teammates left, did you think the program would get even better?
That is exactly what you want. Whatever you do for the program, you want it to keep going up. You have to continually break these molds or break the blockades, and then, everyone after you, they're just going to keep doing more and more. And honestly, it's so fun to watch.
What else sticks out about your experiences at Creighton that you really reflect on positively?
I feel as though I have changed so much since Creighton. I changed so much when I arrived at Creighton, when I left Creighton, and now that I am coming back again, I still feel like a completely different person. All in good ways. You learn so much along the journey. Something that I always have with me is every single person that is at Creighton or involved in Creighton Athletics. The people in the cafeteria, in the gyms, literally anywhere that you go. Creighton hires such great people, and you're surrounded by so many people that you have so much to learn from.
Was that instantaneous that you recognized it? Some students talk about their first campus visit standing out.
That's all it took.
Oh, it happened to you, too? You walked on campus and loved it?
Yeah. I looked at my mom and my dad and told them I wanted to go to Creighton. And they said, ‘OK, this is our first visit. We need to do a little bit more research.’ I was like, ‘No, I need to be here.’ There was just something, I don't know if it was coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth, I don't know if it was the team or just the entire atmosphere. But I had to be at Creighton.
From an academic standpoint, how has your degree helped you? You're a professional athlete, and you and Kristen have your own brand, TKN.
We now have a nonprofit! We have a 501(c)(3) as of four weeks ago.
These entities and enterprises, did you ever envision that as a student? How much of what you learned at Creighton has helped you navigate this new world?
It's so helpful. When I graduated, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I wanted to work with people, and I wanted to be involved in sports. I want to start a business, and I want to be a part of a nonprofit. Those were my goals. I really wanted to make all of those things happen. I had no idea how I was going to do it, but I knew somehow, everything was going to fall into place.
But yes, it helped so much having the Creighton background. When we were starting TKN, I reached out to a couple of my professors, a couple of people that I knew in the Omaha area through Creighton, and they actually helped me. We sent our business plan over to them. They gave us some feedback. It was a complete group effort of everybody that I knew from LSU, from the business school, from Creighton’s Heider College of Business, and all of our connections.
