University of Georgia Athletics
Coming Attraction: Marjorie Butler
November 12, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Butler Balances Books And Basketball
By Brandon Weiss
Marjorie Butler's life changed in December of 2011.
A bad step and a torn ACL on her birthday, Nov. 25, left what was a promising basketball career in question. She had already committed to Georgia, so she knew her playing days weren't over, but there was more to worry about because of her impending December surgery.
"Any athlete who experiences an injury like that where you're out of commission for so long, you worry," Butler said. "You know that there's a possibility that you may never recover from this injury. That scared me, but at the same time it motivated me."
Still with a sleeve that covers the lower portion of her left leg, hiding the scars from three separate operations on her knee, Butler reflects on how different her life could've been had she not suffered what would have devastated countless athletes. It was her first encounter with orthopedic medicine, now her preferred career path.
Butler started at UGA with 54 credits from AP classes, a second-semester sophomore in credit standing and only six shy of being a junior. Last spring she graduated with a degree in exercise science. This spring she'll graduate with her second degree, this one in biology.
The District Four Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-American has stayed grounded and kept her head in the books despite seeing her minutes take a drastic upswing last season. A year ago, she notched 28 starts out of 31 contests. She played all 40 minutes in six SEC games.
This year she's had more responsibilities thrown her way. Besides her on-court and in-class responsibilities, Butler is interviewing for medical schools across the Southeast.
She's been admitted to Florida and Meharry (Nashville), interviewed at Vanderbilt and UAB. She has interviews upcoming with Virginia, Morehouse, East Tennessee State and Georgia Regents. She also anticipates hearing back from more schools.
"I think it all started for me last year, when I started preparing for my MCAT in the middle of the season," Butler said about her hectic schedule. "We were in conference play and I was going to class from 8 to 11 at night to prepare for my MCAT. I studied for that all summer and Coach Joni (Taylor) supported me throughout the process.
"Travel, missing practice, missing class, whatever it is, it's a lot to juggle. But being at the University of Georgia, the athletic department has done a tremendous job supporting me and making this all possible."
That's not to say that Butler isn't doing her part as well. After Georgia's practice on Sunday, the 5-8 senior hopped in her car and drove to Nashville, getting in around 10 at night. She had an interview the next morning at 7:45 a.m. with Vanderbilt. She then hopped in the car and returned to Athens.
"It's difficult," Butler said. "It's a lot of driving, it's a lot of time management, but over my past couple of years as a student-athlete that's something that I'm very skilled at."
She says that being a student-athlete has come up in every interview she has had. The balancing act between her applications and academics and basketball will pay dividends down the road as a doctor.
In the meantime, or when she has time, she's focusing on the now. She wants to finish her collegiate career strong, putting extra emphasis on being a member of the first senior class under Coach Taylor.
"With all the seniors there's extra incentive not only because we're seniors and this is it for us, but because we want to leave a positive mark on the program," she said. "This is a new era of basketball for Georgia, and we all want to be remembered as the first players that began something that is going to be great one day."
Butler and her teammates will get their first opportunity to forge that new era this Sunday when they host Stetson at Stegeman Coliseum at 2 p.m.
Brandon Weiss is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., and an intern in the University of Georgia Sports Communications office this year. Weiss graduated from the University of Missouri in 2015 with his bachelor's degree in journalism. He worked for the media relations office of Mizzou Athletics for four years and also spent the summer of 2014 interning in the media relations department of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"Coming Attractions" is a weekly feature published on georgiadogs.com spotlighting a UGA student-athlete who will be competing in a key home event during the upcoming weekend. Previous stories from this year include:
August 27 - Jasmine Eaton (volleyball in the Benson Hospitality Invitational)
September 3 - Sydney Shultis (soccer vs. Clemson)
September 10 - Liliana Rios (soccer vs. South Carolina)
September 17 - Isaiah McKenzie (football vs. South Carolina)
September 24 - Mariel Gutierrez (soccer vs. Arkansas & Texas A&M)
October 1 - John Atkins (football vs. Alabama)
October 8 - Matias Koski (swimming & diving vs. North Carolina)
October 15 - Megan Spencer (volleyball vs. Missouri)
October 22 - Caroline Brinson (women's tennis in ITA Regionals)
October 29 - Kendall Kazor (volleyball vs. Florida)
November 5 - Sterling Bailey (football vs. Kentucky)
