NICOLE BORGSTADT
People often ask me why I play softball at Penn -- why I wake up every day in the preseason at 5 a.m. to walk 20 minutes through the snow to practice inside, why I spend hours in the training room to do physical therapy and receive treatment in order to tolerate painful injuries, why I sacrifice Spring Fling and spring break and study abroad to play a game.
The thing is, they have a point. We don't play for scholarships (in fact, most of us turned down scholarships to go to Penn.) We don't play for fans (because if you've come to a game, I'm sure you were aware of just how few students were in the stands.) And we don't play for a future in the sport (because even if there were professional softball, we are all here at Penn because we chose to prioritize academics anyway.)
We play because we love it. We play for the feeling of accomplishment we have while sitting in a 9 a.m. class after already completing a three-hour practice. We play for the feeling of excitement we have as we walk into the locker room with the promise of a new day and an opportunity to play, and possibly win, another game. We play for the feeling of pride we have as our names are announced over the loudspeakers and we run out to our positions with Penn jerseys on our backs and an Ivy League flag flying over our field. We play for ourselves, for our teammates and for the little girls within us who dreamt of playing college softball one day.
And despite the fact that I will leave Penn without a single winning season, let alone an Ivy League championship, I would not change a thing, because I was still a part of something great. And even though I will soon move back to the exact place I began four years ago, a strange place called Kansas where few people have heard of Penn or the Ivy League. I will return forever changed by the people I met and the experiences I had here.
I am so thankful for having been blessed with the opportunity to play Division I softball while receiving a great education. I thank my coaches, the athletics staff, my fellow athletes and, most of all, my teammates. My four years at Penn have been the greatest in my life, and Penn athletics are at the heart of every great memory I have.
LAUREN CARTER
Coming into Penn as a freshman in the fall of 2000, I greatly underestimated the experience I was about to jump into, the people I would meet and the lessons I would learn. Coaches and administrators tell us that being a student-athlete at this university is much more than the hours we put in during practice and games, and I finally now understand what that means.
Being a student-athlete at Penn is pushing yourself and those around you toward success each and every day. It is expending 100 percent effort at all times in order to meet the goals of the team. It is striving to be the best, while understanding that no win comes without a struggle. This commitment reaps many rewards, and after four years of pushing through the injuries, the losses and the everyday practices, Penn Volleyball sits at the top with three straight Ivy League championships.
But student-athletes are not just about the practices, games, rings and trophies. Penn Volleyball has taught me about the power a group of young women can wield on and off the court. These women are Phi Beta Kappa scholars, DP columnists, human rights activists, student teachers, university leaders and full time students. This exceptional group is dedicated not only to achieving on the court, but in every other aspect of life. Being a student-athlete at Penn is so much more. It is respecting the university and the community and working toward making a difference, no matter how small it may be.
I have learned far more than ever expected from playing volleyball at Penn. I know that one person alone cannot accomplish victory. The diverse skills, interests and energies of this group create an incredible strength, which allows our team to achieve in all fields. It is with this bond and the knowledge that each individual would lay herself on the line to help another that enhances the student-athlete experience. We are not only teammates, but also friends and family.
Four years, three Ivy League championships and NCAA Tournament appearances later, I can decidedly say that I am leaving without regrets. Cheers to giving ourselves 100 percent every day to the game and to our team, to the persistent strength of our leaders, to the diligence of the coaching staff and to the school and fans who supported us through it all. The Penn Volleyball Class of 2004 graduates are stronger, more confident and prepared than we could have ever expected. This incredible experience of being a student-athlete at Penn has brought us this far and the lessons learned will carry us into the future.
CHARLIE COPP
A reflection on anything is a time to look back from point B to point A and see the construction of our character and the magnitude of its development. In four years at Penn, as both an athlete and a student, the distance from point A to point B was a lot further than I had anticipated. For me, the person standing at point B would not even recognize the person standing at point A. In this incredible four-year journey at Penn, intellectualizing, questioning, investigating, learning and understanding were all inevitably absorbed into our character as students because of the world-class professors at Penn, whose teaching produced nothing but these attributes. Their great in-depth knowledge and passion for the subjects they teach bring the quality of the education we received to a remarkably high level, as we reaped the benefits of their investigations and understanding which overflow from their teaching and into our minds. This type of teaching inspired us all to develop opinions and perspectives to independently reach conclusions with our own investigations, pushing our character to question and reach new thought. Thought, not simply from our own ideas, but thought that accepts the ideas of others and can reason with other ideas to reach a proper conclusion in any subject. This new understanding from our time at Penn has thoroughly equipped us with better reasoning to open doors that were shut in the past and shut doors that should have been closed long ago.
As an athlete, this was only part of the learning process in my four years at Penn. I personally had the privilege to play for the varsity men's basketball team, and as all athletes know, the lessons learned from our athletic experiences molded our character as much as the books did. Our character was tested under immense pressure every time we practiced or competed. It came from the coaches, the fans, the media and most critically, ourselves.
The sports that we played drove us to do things we once thought we were incapable of doing, and in this discovery, the boundaries of our character expanded greatly. After being in pressure-packed environments and having to perform within them for four years, our strength to endure and succeed as athletes and as people has become razor sharp. Attributes such as resilience, discipline, desire, loyalty and self-sacrifice characterize the lessons learned from my experience as an athlete as well as others here at Penn. These attributes exist in all people from all walks of life, but for us athletes at Penn, possession or absence of these attributes were more readily exposed because of the public forum in which we performed. For myself personally, the most important lesson I learned from my experience as an athlete here is that I should not strive for the success that results from the pressure of the coaches, fans and media, which is victory alone. Instead, I should strive to successfully obtain and sustain the attributes developed by sports (resilience, discipline, desire, loyalty and self-sacrifice) first and foremost because victory is the by-product and not the origin of these attributes.
Someone once gave me an analogy for life that was right on. It is like a professor giving a test and a student studying for it. Certain things will be on that test and the student does not have any control over it, but how hard that student studies for the test will determine how he will answer each question that comes his way. So it seems with life as well, because certain things will come our way in life, both problems and successes, but it is how much effort and preparation as well as character and understanding we have that determines how we will react to each obstacle before us in life. In my four years at Penn, my ability to overcome those obstacles of life has increased with great magnitude, because of my experience as a student and an athlete. These learned attributes is what took me from point A to point B. I thank and credit God for everything developed in myself over these four years and in all of my life, and I wish all the graduates of the class of 2004 from the University of Pennsylvania the best of luck.
ANDY RADU
I finished my college fencing career on March 28, 2004, at the NCAA Championships at Brandeis. On my last day as a Penn fencer, I made All-American. I couldn't have asked for a better or more climactic ending. I had barely missed making All-American in both my sophomore and junior years, and this year I overcame painful cramps to finally succeed in the grueling two-day competition. I left that day feeling spent, but quite satisfied. On the van ride home, however, I had a slow, sinking feeling. Only then did I recognize how much I would miss fencing at Penn. I would miss my teammates, I would miss daily practice and I would miss those harrowing Ivy League meets. Most of all, I would miss being a part of something much greater than myself.
I learned a lot from the constant pressure of performance. I gained self-confidence by winning, but I learned a lot more about myself by losing. Still, the most important thing I learned as an athlete is this: When you go out onto the field, or court, or strip (in my case), you must suspend your ego and your pride. You must also suspend your sense of doubt. No one is necessarily better or worse than you. All you have is your skill on that given day.
Fencing for Penn has been the experience of a lifetime. I know I will be coming back and cheering the team on for years to come, and that makes me feel much better. Even if I'm not on the strip anymore, I'm part of an important tradition. I'm the last person to be satisfied with things, and the last you'd expect to sit back and fondly reminisce. That said, it's all been wonderful.
RACHEL SHWEKY
Entering college, I knew that I wanted to graduate having accomplished three things. One, I wanted to make the most of a Penn education and strive for academic excellence. Two, I wanted to make sure that while I worked hard hitting the books, I was also making the most of my social life. Three, I wanted to have a fulfilling college athletic experience. As I stand, one week from graduating, I can happily say that I have lived up to all of my expectations. I am pleased with my academic successes, I have more than enjoyed my social experiences and I am leaving the Penn tennis program having been part of making Penn tennis history by winning two Ivy League championships.
People always wondered how it was possible to make time for everything. My only answer to them was, if you enjoy what you're doing then you make time for it. The five-days-a-week practices and missed weekends at Penn because of traveling were all worth it to me. I was a part of something special, a winning team, both on and off the court. Not all college athletes can say the same thing. The team bonding was something that I could never have imagined. We would come back from road trips, and the second we hit Penn campus we wanted to spend time together. I never had many girlfriends growing up because of the "cattiness" and competitive junior tennis wasn't the best of times. When I came to college, I would be mixing these two worlds and I was quite fearful. I was pleasantly surprised, in fact, overwhelmingly surprised to find out that some of my best friends in life would be from my team.
It is sad that my college athletic experience has to come to an end. Better yet, my general college experience is coming to a close. Unfortunately, as we know, all good things must come to an end, but the memories will live on (so cheesy, but true). I just hope others have enjoyed their collegiate career as much as I have. Best of luck to all future college athletes and much love for my Quaks!
RACHEL ZAPPALORTI
The Red and the Blue are something I have proudly adorned over the past four years, and something I will truly miss. Despite the fact that it is time to leave this behind, I am so proud and honored to look back to all of the great memories and all of the amazing friendships I have made.
As a member of the varsity swimming and diving team, it has been my honor to serve as a representative of the University of Pennsylvania. I remember back to freshman year, when we were first issued our team sweats and our new Penn competition bathing suit and swim cap ... I was ecstatic! I remember running back to my room in the Quadrangle to try on my new team gear and see what I looked like -- now as a Penn swimmer. Sure, this sounds pretty corny, but I was excited, and so honored to be a member of Penn Athletics.
Throughout my four years as a Penn student-athlete, I never lost that excitement and honor. Standing on the starting blocks before a race, wearing the split 'P' and hearing my teammates yell, "Get up Penn!" -- this is something I will really miss. Though what I will truly miss the most about being a member of the Penn swimming and diving team are my teammates -- strangers the first days, and now my best friends for life. Swimming and diving are such individualized sports, but my teammates made it something more for me. Together, we worked hard and we played hard. We've shared both laughs and tears, wins and losses. But most of all, we drove each other to succeed, and that is something I will never forget, and a valuable lesson I may carry with me for the rest of my life.
It is now that same giddy freshman inside of me that must say goodbye to all of these wonderful times. As I approach Penn Commencement 2004, the real world awaits. "The real world"... what is it, and what does it have in store for me, my teammates and my fellow graduating student-athletes?
Thank you Penn Swimming and Diving, for being my family away from home and providing me with that support, guidance and friendship which I will cherish forever. Thank you Penn Athletics, for truly exemplifying the meanings of the words, Pride, Honor and Tradition. Thank you Penn, for an amazing four years.
Best of luck to those remaining student-athletes. Keep the tradition alive, and take advantage of this Penn experience. Most of all, good luck to my fellow graduates of Penn's Class of 2004. This is not a goodbye, but the beginning of something even greater.
Forever and always ... go Quakers!
