Jasneet Nijjar, a 21-year-old from Canada, is much more than just the notable WSU track athlete you may know her as. Nijjar has been involved in track and field since she was just 7 years old and has chosen to double major in kinesiology and psychology here at WSU.

Family has always been a central and important part of her life, as Nijjar acknowledges them as the people who first got her involved in track and field.

When asked what has kept her motivated to keep pursuing and giving her all to track and field all these years, she said.

“Constantly reminding myself of my why’s … I’ve sacrificed a lot to come here, I’m away from my family for months, it’s hard.”

Nijjar also said she feels that she can now be a mentor to other students and athletes and talked about how it can be difficult to adapt to a new school, especially as an athlete having to adapt to new coaching styles and how it is overall a big transition.

Being a good resource, especially for international students, is important to her and something that she strives to be for others, she said.

Pullman is a much smaller city compared to Vancouver, Canada, where Nijjar grew up. When asked why she chose to make the switch to live in Pullman and attend WSU, she said that she was drawn to the friendly and welcoming Coug community, and also because most Canadian schools do not have as many opportunities to be spotlighted in track and field.

One of the biggest accomplishments Nijjar said that she is proud of in her athletic career is making it into a Division 1 school for track and field. Nijjar’s goals do not end with WSU however, as she has full intention of taking on the Olympics post-graduation.

“My end goal is definitely the Olympics and I’ve been doing [track] for so long, I can’t stop. It is something that I at least will give myself a fair shot at,” she said.

This ambition seems more than likely to come to fruition as Nijjar has already attended the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games in Argentina when she was around 17 years old, which she referenced as another one of her proudest achievements.

Nijjar was also named an All-Academic honoree for 2021-22, and when asked how she is able to balance two majors, track and field, and a social life, she said that it was a process to figure out but that she finally found a routine that works for her. During freshman year, Nijjar said her main focus was solely on track which led her to realize that finding a balance and creating a schedule that allowed for more aspects in her life besides just track was vital.

“If I’m going to be performing on the track then I need to be performing in academics and keeping my academics up … performing at both levels,” she said.

She also said that she had to learn that it is OK to have fun, and that some of her favorite activities to do in her free time include hiking especially surrounding her home in British Columbia.

She loves, “… anything that requires me to get out of my comfort zone and try something new.”

Nijjar loved anything that requires her to get out of her comfort zone and try something new, she said.

“I try to use every experience to the best of my ability and taking everything in,” Nijjar said.