From Washington DC: Kate Donnelly ’11
Today’s GHB blog entry is courtesy of former field hockey and lacrosse player, Kate Donnelly. Kate was an Accounting/Business major and Poverty Studies minor at W&L. After finishing college, she continued to pursue her interests in accounting by attending grad school at UVA. Now she shares with us her personal story coming out of W&L.
Hey there, Generals!
It’s Kate, checking in from DC! Iziar asked me to share a little bit about what life is like after W&L—life is great! After finishing up grad school at UVA this past spring, I moved up to the HUGE city (compared to Lex…). In October, I started working for Ernst & Young as a Public Accountant in their Assurance Practice. I am just now finishing up our “busy season” and am looking forward to a calm spring and summer (hopefully with some field hockey pick-up games included!). Living in DC has been so fun. It’s amazing how many W&L Alumni you can run into! I live in a neighborhood where many W&L graduates live, so I see familiar faces all the time (including your very own Annie Stevenson!).
Since I graduated, I’ve also been able to visit a few old teammates. I’d say one of the hardest parts about leaving Lexington, is losing the ability to see all of your close friends (especially teammates) everyday, so those of you still at W&L should savor it while you’re still in Lex! With that said, distance from my teammates has just made it that more special to see them every once in a while. I’ve gotten to see Lizz Dye and Sallie in Houston a few times, Emmy and Kathy in NYC, and Bene in Charlottesville. Kelly and Jennie have both made it to visit DC, as well.
It has definitely taken me the two years since I graduated to get used to life without collegiate field hockey and lacrosse. I seriously never thought I’d write these words, but I truly miss running 150s before practice! I was just in Lexington the other weekend for a lacrosse reunion and stopped by the field hockey turf. The team was running a high school clinic, and it brought back so many memories. I remember it so well—coming to visit Lexington for the first time as a prospective student and watching the field hockey team practice with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background. What a special place!
Well, as you can tell, I really miss playing Generals field hockey and can hardly wait for my next chance to come visit Lexington. I hope the entire field hockey family (players, coaches, alumni and parents) is doing well and hope to see a bunch of you over alumni weekend in May!
Best,
PS. Here are a few photos of life outside of Lex!
My new home.
An oldie, but a goodie!
Visiting Sallie Armstrong in Austin, TX.
Visiting NYC during the Holidays with Emmy Mathews, Kathy Brown, Kelly Tran and some other W&L friends.
Hanging at the beach with Kelly Tran ’11.
Player Perspective: Junior Captain Riley Hampsch, ’14
Junior Captain and defensive player Riley Hampsch shares her personal story as a survivor of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. After her 16th relay, she continues to dedicate a major part of her life to help other patients battling cancer and encourages the W&L community to join her cause.
Riley Hampsch
Hi all,
As many of you know, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when I was about three years old. People often tell me that it was lucky that I was young because I probably can’t remember it, but I remember almost all of it. I remember the countless hours I spent in hospitals for the next 6 years of my life, I remember the friends I made along the way, and most of all, I remember the support all my family and friends gave me as I went through it all. I am immensely grateful I made it through and survived my battle, yet I was only one among many. Everyday more than 4,500 people are diagnosed with cancer within the United States alone.
Every year, I dedicate 24 hours of my life (plus a few extra fundraising hours on the side) to paying forward that support to other patients battling cancer by participating in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. This year will be my 16th Relay and with the help of many generous people I have helped raise over $50,000 for cancer research. But I’m not done yet!!! At age three, I started fighting cancer, but ironically, after seventeen years in remission, I don’t think I have ever stopped. Now, rather than fighting for myself, I fight for others, trying to give back that crucial support that was given to me when I needed it most. I wouldn’t be alive and well today or be able to be a part of this wonderful field hockey team if it weren’t for the multitude of cancer research that has already been done when I was diagnosed. Please consider donating just $5 to Washington and Lee’s Relay for Life on March 15th-16th. Every dollar we raise goes towards helping a patient become one of the lucky ones, one of the survivors. On the day of the Relay, I will proudly be walking in the survivor lap with the four other W&L students who are cancer survivors, as well as survivors from within the Lexington community. My hope is that, through our efforts, more people will have the opportunity to walk this lap. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Riley
Washington and Lee at Disney
Greetings from Lexington; our blog is back!! Coach Jane Beall was our blog master so when she left for Indianapolis, our blog took a break. I think we are ready to get back to posting though. A current player and the current coaches hope to start posting again on a more regular basis again.
The blog is a nice way to keep current, past, and possible future players up to date.
Coach Scott and Coach Orrison had a great trip down to Florida where they watched some good field hockey at the Disney tournament. The weather was great this year! Plenty of sunshine during the day, yet it was cool and breezy so that the athletes could work hard without overheating.
The ESPN zone is pretty nice. The fields are in good shape and it is always clean and the staff is friendly, well everyone except the gate people.
The coaches get fed lunch and a snack every day and the food is amazing. Domineque and I, and all of our colleagues, would look forward to lunch everyday. They also had a snack for us every afternoon-yum. The last day was a soft pretzel in the shape of Mickey. Not only is the food great but we get to catch up with each other. I have been coaching for over 20 years now and the field hockey community is small and tight. I get to catch up with old friends at these big tournaments and that is great. I know many coaches from all of the levels (DI, DI and DIII) plus I know many umpires. It is always good to catch up with each other, share pictures of our families and talk about the sport and people that we love.
The W&L coaches are good friends with many of their colleagues, including many ODAC coaches. We often share transportation, lodging, and meals throughout recruiting events. It helps make our job fun. On our last night there a group of 11 of us (10 schools) went to dinner in downtown Disney.
GFH Graduation Day
If you guys haven’t checked out W&L’s Graduation Edition of Scene on Campus, you are missing out! We screencapped some gems from the seniors’ special day to share with you here. They’re best viewed with “Pomp and Circumstance” playing in the background.
Coach Orrison leads the seniors (now graduates!) during the processional.
Bene, center, mugs for her BFF and university photographer, Kevin Remington. Kunks, far right, is apparently checking the sky for rain clouds.
Kunks, far left, smiling pretty!
Elizabeth Dye: the woman, the myth, the legend.
THIS.
Save the Date for the GFH Summer Clinic – July 20th, 2012
GFH will be hosting a one-day clinic and information session this summer on Friday, July 20th. Join us for a fun day (or half-day!) of hockey. It’s a great opportunity to play on our water-based turf field and walk the historic red bricks of our Colonnade. Further information and a registration form can be found here. We hope to see you there!
Player Perspective: Victoria Van Natten, ’14
Rising junior and Johnson Scholar Victoria Van Natten brings us today’s GFH blog entry. A native of Towson, Maryland, Victoria has been spending her spring term in our nation’s capital getting real-world experience, and shares her thoughts on it with us below.
I am a sophomore (soon to be junior, eek!!!) and I am in D.C. for spring term doing the Washington Term Program. I live with three of my classmates in a pretty nice apartment in Pentagon City. Living on our own is sometimes a struggle…I think we have already taken the trash out twice since Sunday (it’s Tuesday) and someone is constantly missing something.
In the program we work real-life jobs/internships Monday-Thursday and then on Friday we have class all day. Traditional ‘class’ is just from 9-12, and we usually discuss the readings and what we all did at our internships that week. Every Friday afternoon we go somewhere interesting and have a speaker tell us about their job. Last Friday we went to the Department of Energy and met with a Professor from W&L, Professor Crowley, who is doing a fellowship with the DOE to develop solar energy. This Friday we are going to the Pentagon! So that’s pretty cool. We have done some fun stuff—we went to an Orioles game as a class and that was a blast. We also went to The Folger Theater to see Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew last Friday night (whether this falls in the fun category is still up for debate).
Vic, on the far left, enjoys an MLB game
I am working at Public Opinion Strategies. It is a polling firm in Alexandria, VA, which is essentially part of D.C. I can get to my job on the metro so easily. Old Town Alexandria is a great place to work. There are a lot of small, adorable shops and places to eat. My job is really interesting to me and definitely keeps me busy. I am a math and politics double major. If you think that’s a weird combination, you’re not alone. But it is working for me, and both sides have definitely helped me at my job so far. I get a lot of assignments from my direct bosses (who both went to W&L!) and the partner who oversees our team. Check out the firm’s website if you are interested in what they do: pos.org.
I love it here. I already feel like a semi-Washingtonian even though our Professor keeps telling us not to “go native.” I have learned that DC loves acronyms. DC itself is an acronym. POS. UCA. POTUS. SOTU. TARP. The USA PATRIOT act is actually an acronym. “The official title of the USA PATRIOT Act is “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001.” Unreal.
The program is 6 weeks instead of Spring Term’s usual 4, which I was nervous about, but it isn’t a problem. Everyone else is about to be done but I am only a little over half way! Which is good because I need to go to Georgetown and shop (AKA stare at the window of Rag & Bone) about four more times before I leave. I have been in three different Anthropologies since I got here! Three!
Although I love D.C. (clearly) I can’t wait to get back to Lex and start playing again! Wahoo!!! And I miss the team a lot a lot. I signed up for summer league in good ol’ Baltimore (my hometown) last week. I would highly recommend this program to anyone remotely interested in the inner-workings of D.C. It has been a great way to get a taste of life after graduation—and has made me appreciate my time at W&L so much more!
Hey, We Know Her!
Congratulations are in order for senior dual-sporter and one-time GFH blogger Christina Benedetti. Bene was voted ODAC Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Year for her performance this season. You can read the full release on the athletics main page. If you don’t have time to click through, here’s the summary: Bene is an amazing athlete and person and we will be very sad to see her and the fellow seniors graduate next week..
While we are busy patting backs, we are proud to report that Washington and Lee Athletics won the 2012 ODAC Overall Sports Champion Cup for the ninth-straight year. In addition, W&L was awarded the ODAC Women’s Sport Trophy for having the highest-performing women’s programs. This was the ninth year that W&L has won the women’s side on top of the Overall Cup. A job well done by all the Generals competing in the blue and white this year!
Long time, No Post!
Greetings from Lexington! It’s been a while. A lot has happened in the past month. We wrapped up our spring field hockey season by hosting a playday with UVA Club and Tidewater FHC out of the Richmond area. The coaching staff was very pleased with GFH’s progress throughout March and the team’s performance on gameday. Several alums, including Grace McGee, Steph Mansey, and Laura Nugent brushed the dust of their sticks and came out to play. It was a great day of hockey, and we’re all excited to see what the fall of 2012 will hold for GFH.
GFH first years performing their annual skit at the GFH banquet
We also held our annual GFH banquet, graciously hosted by the Orrison family out at their farm. Team members were honored for their accomplishments in the classroom and on the field. It was a nice chance to see everyone together one more time before the rush of exams. I think I can speak for everyone when I say the highlight of the evening was Effie’s strawberry cake, which I still have dreams about weeks later.
GFH Seniors
GFH Juniors
GFH Sophomores
Spring break is almost over, which means the start of spring term. Several GFH players will be studying abroad in places like Belize and Nicaragua. Others will be spending the term getting valuable experience on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. and at hospitals in Richmond. The rest of us will be enjoying spring here in lovely Lex Vegas. Come by and see us anytime!
All-Academic, All-Awesome
Congratulations are in order for many of our GFH student-athletes and the team as a whole! The National Field Hockey Coaches Association recently announced the Gladiator by SGI/NFHCA Collegiate National Academic Squads and the National Academic Team Awards amd GFH was represented on both lists.
GFH was honored as a National Academic Team for achieving a team-wide GPA of 3.0 or above during the first semester of the 2011-12 academic year.
The following individuals were appointed to the DIII National Academic Squad for achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher through the first semester of the 2011-2012 academic year. Way to go!
Christina Benedetti *four-year member
Elizabeth Dye *four-year member
