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Patricia J. Marino and Alan J. Musante |
Athlete Profiles |
JOHNNIE BRYANT MEN'S DIVISION I BASKETBALL UNIVERSITY OF UTAH "College sports has given me the opportunity to meet people from around the world and travel to many cities across the United States. Basketball helps people cross borders and achieve great things. The biggest thing I learned from athletics is the importance of being on time, discipline, time management and teamwork. All these things that I learned will carry over in life when I'm done playing basketball." |
CHRIS COBB DIVISION III - BASKETBALL MENLO COLLEGE, CALIFORNIA "I think the most important thing I would recommend to high school student athletes is not to choose a school off of purely the highest level, but to choose a school that fits your liking and where you can play. I have numerous friends that have had to transfer due to not playing, lack of fun, or just not enjoying the experience or teammates. I feel I made a good decision for myself to play at a lower level school, when I had higher level scholarship offers, but the lower level school fit me best. People get wrapped up in the hype of playing at too high a level sometimes," which can lead to miserable experiences. |
SCOTT HUGO RUGBY - CLUB SPORT UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES "If I speak to students on the UCLA campus about joining rugby, I always refer to how important it is to be a part of the team environment - to have others depend on you, and you on them. I believe athletics, when given the proper perspective, can not only benefit a person's health but also help forge their ability to maintain relationships with others and to effectively work as part of a whole. UCLA men's rugby, like DLS football, has once again provided me with the opportunity to contribute to something greater than myself - to learn and embrace the sacrifices that are inherent in ensuring the success of any group. It has been a powerful social network, allowing me contact with a variety of individuals and affording me the chance to meet people from other universities." |
DANIEL MAHONEY DIVISION I - SWIMMING GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY GRADUATE "Swimming in college has been an amazing experience, one that I would not trade for anything. Being part of a team is one of the highlights of participating in collegiate athletics. My teammates have been an amazing built-in family away from home with whom I will always share a common bond. Through the training, traveling, competing, and everyday life events knowing that there was a network that I could rely on helped me academically, athletically, and personally. The experience of being a part of a team and working towards a common goal with people of all different backgrounds will definitely help me in both my personal and professional lives in the future. Time management and prioritizing are two crucial things that swimming at the collegiate level taught me." |
KATE MAHONEY DIVISION III - BASKETBALL, JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY "The major benefit I see to continue playing athletics at the college level is that there will be an instant community for me to be a part of. This was especially comforting for me because I'm was going so far away from home." |
DANILA MUSANTE DIVISION I - CAPTAIN - CROSS COUNTRY (TWO YEARS), MEMBER, TRACK TEAM AND CROSS COUNTRY - 4 YEARS HARVARD UNIVERSITY GRADUATE "Running on my high school's cross-country and track team was an invaluable experience. I grew a lot because of my experience as a competitive runner - I learned how to structure and prioritize my time so that I could dedicate myself to running while still excelling in school. I gained confidence in myself as a person and in what I could accomplish with hard work and determination; I had the opportunity to be a leader, and I challenged myself in ways I never thought possible." |
HALSEY WARD DIVISION III - BASKETBALL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, ST. LOUIS I had always been bred to play at the division I level. No one ever mentioned to me that Division II or III were even options. I chose to attend a Mid-major Division I university based solely on its basketball program. Division I sports are great for a lot of people I'm sure, but they simply weren't for me. The fun that I had found in this sport for so many years had been stripped away. It was all politics and business, and it was really disheartening for me. I couldn't remember why I had chosen to play in college. I didn't have much of a social life, and I didn't feel like I was pushing myself as hard as I could academically. I felt stagnant and stunted. I had just put my growth as a person on hold for a year. Looking back, I'm so thankful for the lessons that I learned over the course of that year. After my freshman year was over, I knew that something wasn't right here and I started looking into transferring to another university. I knew now that I didn't want to play Division I basketball, and I began looking at Division II and III schools. I had heard of Washington University in St. Louis before, but only because a student representative visited my high school to talk to prospective students. I was very interested in the Washington University Women's Basketball program. There was so much history and tradition and it seemed like so much fun. Not to mention, the University is very prestigious and I knew I would be getting a great education there. I looked at several other Division II and III schools, but none of them stood out quite as much as Wash U. I went on a visit in early June and after talking to my head Coach, I just knew that I wanted to be a part of this program and this university. |
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