For Stefanie Corgel, playing on CSUMB’s women’s basketball team was just the first rung on a ladder of many achievements. She now thrives in the digital ocean, serving as an in-person and virtual fitness trainer and content creator with more than 50,000 followers on Instagram alone.

“Most every great quality I possess, I owe to team sports,” Corgel wrote in an Instagram post.

Corgel playing basketball for CSUMB

At CSUMB, she studied kinesiology with a concentration in exercise physiology. Shortly after her graduation in 2013, she jumped into a modeling career while also working as an assistant basketball coach at CSUMB and teaching group fitness classes.

She then played professionally in Italy and modeled in Portland, Oregon, for name brands such as Nike and Lululemon. Today, she lives in Manhattan Beach and spends most of her time snapping Instagram photos, cuddling with her Bernadoodle named Pepper Corgel, and creating workout classes for the “Tone It Up” app.

Looking back on her success, she points out that team sports is what shaped her into the person she is now and that her coaches were key mentors along her journey.

“The confidence, work ethic, determination, empathy, assertiveness, leadership qualities, multitasking ability, self respect, and ‘bigger-picture’ mentality learned on the court beside my teammates and coaches is what makes me a entrepreneurial force to be reckoned with today,” she said.