Paige Lowe, a junior on the Oregon State softball team, is an example of passion and leadership on and off the field. An art major, with a focus in photography, Lowe is also the starting short stop for the Beavers and holds a .285 batting average with two homeruns and 10 RBI on the season. Lowe is also one of three sisters that play softball at the Division 1 level. Paige took a moment to discuss her time at Oregon State, as a student and playing for the Beavers.

Q. You have a very athletic family. Talk about the support that comes with that background.

“There is definitely a lot of support. Everyone has always played softball, and my dad played football and my mom was a runner. It is really good to have that athletic background because they are there to push you, but they know all the struggles too. My sister Caitlin went through college first and told me everything, and now I can tell McKenna and it just a great support system.”

Q. What is it like having your sister on the team with you this year?

“It’s really cool. It is kind of the same thing as in high school, but on a bigger level and in a different state. It’s really neat to have that support there with you, and she thinks of it as a positive thing that I’m there for her and she’s always there for me. It’s cool to have her behind me in left field, because she’s there to back me up.”

Q. What has it been like to move from second to short stop this season?

“That was a big challenge for me, but I have always moved around a little bit. But short stop was actually the one position I had never played before. So it was a little bit scary, but I was excited for the challenge. I’ve played third and first and second, so I was ready to step up for the new position.”

Q. You are majoring in art. Why did you decide to choose that focus?

“Well I came in really open minded. I knew that I had an appreciation for art, and then I also wanted to do something like physical therapy and psychology too. I took all the intro classes and realized that when you are in college, you are supposed to take the classes that you want to take; no one is telling you what to do. So I went into photography and that is my emphasis.”

Q. What is your favorite style of photography?

“I really like beach photography; I do a lot of that. I really just want to travel the world and take pictures and then open a gallery at some point. I don’t ever want to settle on one thing, that is the great thing about photography. I like black and white photography because it is timeless, but you can do whatever you want with color, so that is cool too.”

Q. What do you do to stay up on your academics with such a busy schedule?

“It’s really hard being an art major. I can’t take my huge camera on the road. I had to take a painting class one term and I couldn’t take my canvas and oil pants with me, so I have to get everything done in three days that everyone else gets to do in a week. But being an athlete you realize that you always have a time crunch, and you learned to become disciplined. But I don’t think I could do it normally.”

Q. Are you involved in any student organizations on campus?

“I am on S.A.A.C. and I am a representative for softball.”

Q. What is one goal athletically that you have been able to accomplish during your time at Oregon State, and do you still have a goals you have not reached?

“Well when I was in high school I was actually told that I wouldn’t be able to play college softball because I had a really bad back problem after I broke my back. They told me I wasn’t going to be able to play after high school. So that was a really great accomplishment to be where I am. And we made it to the World Series, and that was the biggest thing.

I’d like to go further and win the World Series. That is something we haven’t done yet. Winning the World Series is the ultimate accomplishment, which hopefully we can do in the next few years.”

Q. Who has been your biggest influence or motivator on the team?

“DeAnn Young and Cambria Miranda. They always work really hard and they are both clutch, and that is something that I strive to be, is clutch in tough situations.”