Life Lessons on and off the Field

“I’m a firm believer in sports being a great paradigm for business. It’s teamwork, it’s collaboration, you’re working under stress. You really have to understand the strengths of the people you are playing with. You have to learn how to lose gracefully and win humbly.”

Daniela Holt Voith ’75
Basketball
Founding Partner and Direction of Design, Voith & Mactavish Architects

“Being an athlete at Bryn Mawr gave me an incredible sense of belonging, especially during the pandemic, when isolation was the norm. I still feel that same belonging and pride as I follow the accomplishments of the department and the current scholar-athletes. I’ve also developed a great sense of gratitude for the grit, leadership, and dedication learned while being an athlete at Bryn Mawr, as these skills continue to propel my personal and professional growth. I look forward to hearing all that future athletes will accomplish — Go Owls!!!”

Elizabeth Tompkins ’23
Lacrosse
M.S. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania

“In the way that Bryn Mawr shapes you to make change in the world through your passion, I developed my voice and learned to make change through sport and athletics. I learned how to fail and try again. I learned how to lead and listen. I can't delineate the experiences, and for that, I'm so grateful.”

Caroline Heffernan ’10
Field Hockey, Basketball, Lacrosse
AAEB Chairperson Collegiate Athletics and Club Sports

“As an athlete at Bryn Mawr, I forged lasting friendships, and I appreciated how well athletics could be balanced with academics and other activities.

“Now, as a Trustee Liaison to Athletics, I am continually inspired and impressed by the dedication and commitment of Bryn Mawr's scholar-athletes, coaches, and staff, whose enthusiasm and efforts extend far beyond practices and competitions. The Owls teams, I believe, make a positive impact on the entire campus community and greatly appreciate support and additional resources from alumnae/i."

Severa von Wentzel ’95
Cross Country & Rugby
Trustee Liason to Athletics

“Head Field Hockey Coach Victor Brady, the athletic trainers (shoutout to Terry and Laura!), and my many teammates not only taught me how to persevere through challenges in the pursuit of excellence, but to use my voice, encourage and celebrate those around me, and find joy in working tenaciously as a team.

"In my career as a middle school humanities teacher, I rely upon the values of the BMC athletics community in order to empower my students and foster an environment centered on agency, teamwork, and leadership.”

Haley Newsham ’17
Field Hockey
English Language Arts Teacher, Nissitissit Middle School

“Through athletics, I met the women who would become my lifelong and dearest friends. In addition to being an athlete, I worked all the student jobs offered by the Athletics department—these demands surely provided me with all the tools you think of when considering the rigors of college athletics: time management, teamwork, leadership skills, balancing academics with other interests.

“Athletics taught me how to push my own boundaries to achieve new levels of success. It taught me to be strong and resilient, to be dedicated and consistent, and to show up every day as the best version of myself. All of these life lessons, as well as the friendships I made as a student, brought me back to the department with the hopes of paying it all forward. It brings me joy each and every day to help our scholar-athletes to push their expectations of themselves, to find their strength and their voices, and to teach them just how extraordinary their bodies are.”

Courtney H. Morris ’99
Soccer
Head Strength & Conditioning Coach and Fitness Center Director, Bryn Mawr College

“I experienced the physical and mental toll of hard work, and the satisfaction of persevering in the face of adversity. I learned how to succeed, but also how to pick myself up again after failure, and how to support others. I learned to enjoy the process of working towards a common goal as a team. And I learned how to be resilient.”

Chiemi Suzuki ’00
Volleyball
Associate General Counsel, California Insitute of Technology

“Being a scholar-athlete at Bryn Mawr has profoundly shaped my approach to both academics and sports, instilling in me the value of discipline and teamwork. My recent internship with the WNBA team the Dallas Wings has broadened my perspective, revealing how skills from the court and the front office can intersect and lead to diverse post-college opportunities within the sports industry. My athletics participation prepared me to work well in a fast-paced environment and gave me a unique perspective to contribute to my department. In my internship, I got the chance to see how my athletics career doesn't have to end with my last year at BMC; I can stay involved in the game of basketball, taking part in the behind the- scenes operations that go into game days in professional sports.”

Jess Smith ’25
Basketball
2024 Youth Programs Intern with the Dallas Wings