Head Women's Volleyball Coach Shelley Bauder thoroughly enjoys working with student-athletes.
Shelley Bauder is head women’s volleyball coach at Moravian. She also organizes an annual leadership conference for all sophomore athletes and serves as the advisor for the Athletes of Faith Club. “While not part of my official job description, I’ve been the voice behind the microphone courtside for women’s basketball for more than 15 years,” Bauder says. “My passion for sports has been long-standing; I fondly recall hosting football and baseball ‘clinics’ in my backyard for neighborhood kids when I was just 12 years old. Having played sports in both high school and college, it was my dream to become a teacher and coach.”
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
I genuinely enjoy working with the volleyball student-athletes and often find it easy to connect with both basketball teams, especially since we share the facility, and I have the opportunity to announce their games. What I enjoy most about my job—aside from collaborating with a fantastic group of colleagues in the athletic department—is witnessing the growth and maturation of student-athletes from their first year to their senior year. For many of them, I assist in navigating homesickness and the transition into college. Over time, our conversations often shift to interpersonal relationships, roommate challenges, study habits, majors, and career choices. And, of course, some simply stop by to take advantage of my always-full candy bowl and basket of snacks.
Of your accomplishments thus far in that role, which is most meaningful to you?
As I’ve grown older, one of my priorities has been building relationships. I enjoy catching up with alumni to learn about their career journeys and personal lives. It’s wonderful to form friendships with my colleagues, many of whom are young enough to be my children, while being kind enough to say I don’t look that old. I also love engaging with people from all over campus, whether they’re professors, staff, or the amazing team at Sodexo (who know that I prefer the lighter chocolate chip cookies instead of the slightly “overbaked” ones at DeLight’s).
treats as a thank you for working with them.
Share something about yourself that people may not know.
I’m pursuing a master of arts in chaplaincy at the Moravian Theological Seminary.
What is your favorite thing to do with your free time?
I absolutely love spending my downtime playing pickleball or heading to the beach with family and friends. What’s a better way to relax and have a great time?
I can never resist a good_____.
Chocolate chip cookie and have petitioned Insomnia Cookies to come to the Lehigh Valley. Yes, we have Crumbl, which I help keep in business, but we really need an Insomnia franchise here in the Valley, preferably in Bethlehem.
Share something that makes you happy.
It doesn’t take much to make me happy. A warm bed with clean sheets brings me joy. Hearing a colleague three doors down yell “Bless you!” after I sneeze puts a smile on my face. I find happiness in laughing with friends, visiting my family in Minnesota, making s’mores (pre-drought) in the backyard with loved ones, and enjoying nature while walking on the trails in Coopersburg.