Lessons from the Links

Karen Alvarez

Comets athlete Karen Alvarez uses a data-first approach both on and off the golf course.

When she’s on the green, her brain is working as hard as her body. Alvarez carefully takes in her surroundings. She considers the direction and speed of the wind, the type of grass, the location of the ball — all the information filling her head like a mental spreadsheet before she takes what she aims to be the perfect swing.

“I’m always thinking about a million things,” said Alvarez, a marketing senior in the Naveen Jindal School of Management and a leader on The University of Texas at Dallas women’s golf team. “Everybody plays the game differently, but what I like to do is think and analyze.

“I’ll do math in my head, which is weird, but I like math. I’ll have different percentages in my head for how much I want the ball to fly and how much I want it to roll. There’s a lot of thinking going on, but I think it’s fun. I’m always just trying to get better.”

Growing up in Maturín, Venezuela, Alvarez lived near the only golf course in the state of Monagas. When professional golfer and Maturín native Jhonattan Vegas — now a PGA Tour winner — sparked interest in the sport there, Alvarez’s parents quickly signed her up. From age 5, she started playing golf with a small group, including her younger sister.

Alvarez gave other sports a chance, but she always gravitated back to golf.

“I think the sport has so many values that it teaches you about life as a whole,” Alvarez said. “One of the things I like most about it is you have to learn to deal with your mistakes. If I make a bad shot or a bad decision, it’s not like a time machine exists. I have to deal with it. I can only change what happens from then on.’”

When her family left Venezuela in 2016 due to political conflict and a suffering economy, Alvarez, a sophomore, enrolled in Cinco Ranch High School in Katy, Texas, and joined a golf team for the first time. Serving three years as captain during high school fostered Alvarez’s passion for leadership while positively impacting her teammates.

Sofia Trevino, a computer science freshman, said Alvarez’s kindness and determination make her an effective leader on the UT Dallas team, too.

“She helped me regain my confidence in my game by always being by my side, encouraging me and pushing me to achieve more,” Trevino said. “Karen is a great leader to the whole team. She believes in everybody’s potential, and she constantly pushes and supports us all in working hard to do our best.”

Alvarez practices at least three hours every day — sometimes as many as six. She works on her mental game as well as her physical game. She said she needs to be sharp to withstand tournaments that can last up to six hours. And her dedication is paying off.

She earned three American Southwest Conference (ASC) Golfer of the Week Awards in the fall 2021 semester. The same season, she set a 36-hole total of 144, breaking her own record of 146 set two seasons prior.

In spring 2020 Alvarez was among the trio who drove the University’s women’s golf team to the ASC championship, where she and her teammates earned All-ASC tournament team honors. They went on to compete in their first NCAA Division III National Championship tournament in May 2021.

Given the role of math and data in her golf strategy, Alvarez’s career goals aren’t a surprise. She started her own marketing limited liability corporation in 2020, mainly creating Google ad campaigns. Marketing allows her to combine her analytical side with her creative side.

“I think marketing is the perfect marriage of those two,” she said. “I want to work specifically in analytics within marketing — to predict with numbers what the right marketing campaign should be. I enjoy that I can use data to back up my decisions for a business and come up with creative solutions.”

A recipient of the Academic Excellence Scholarship, Alvarez prioritizes her campus involvement. She participates in the Professional Program in Marketing, Undergraduate Dean’s Council and Undergraduate Success Scholars. She serves as vice president of the Data Science Club and volunteers with the Multicultural Center.

Of all her accolades, though, Alvarez said she is most proud of the Elite 90 Award for NCAA D-III Women’s Golf she received at the national championship tournament. Given to the athlete with the highest GPA and the most credits at the tournament, it was the first time a Comet was recognized with the award.

“That was really cool because I was recognized on a national level,” Alvarez said. “I put in a lot of work on the golf course, but I also put in a lot of hard work in the classroom. It was nice to get that award representing the team, representing UT Dallas and knowing the women’s golf team is the first University team to bring it home.”

– Brittany Magelssen