What Makes Mount Holyoke Different?

Each fall, the Department of Athletics and the Admissions Office sponsor an event for prospective student-athletes called Focus on Athletics. The coaches invite their top recruits to this event to showcase Mount Holyoke College. Former soccer player and Student Government Association president, Katie Kraschel, spoke to the participants during her senior year. She explained what makes the athletics experience at Mount Holyoke so unique.

“As student government president, I was asked to address the Mount Holyoke community on behalf of the student body during convocation ceremonies at the beginning of the academic year. This was a breathtaking privilege to represent such a diverse group of talented women. I find it an equally, if not more privileged position to represent the dedicated, motivated and passionate group of women who comprise the student-athletes of Mount Holyoke College.

It will be a challenge in these short minutes to summarize what the experience of Mount Holyoke varsity athletics is like, especially considering that what it means to me to put on my jersey and walk onto the field may be very different that what it means to a crewton putting on her “uni” and stepping into the boat. But what I can say with confidence is that there are certain characteristics which define student-athletes at Mount Holyoke. We are passionate. We love our sport. We love competing. We walk onto the courts with pride, walk off the field with no energy left to spare and dive into the pool with inspiring grace. Passion for our sport ties our teams together with bonds that I know will last for time way beyond our four years performing together as teammates and into our time as life-long friends. I can say from the bottom of my heart that my teammates are my home at Mount Holyoke. They are my family. By working together towards a common goal, pushing one another each and every day at practice, training in the off season or working in the weight room there is a synergy and support that I have not seen created in any other venue.

But many of these things could probably be said about other institutions as well, so what makes Mount Holyoke different? The difference I’ve found is that Mount Holyoke athletes are not just passionate about athletics. We are passionate people. My teammates can talk about statistics and math at dinner, discuss history of monasteries on the bus and organic chemistry in the locker room. At Mount Holyoke this is encouraged. Athletics are important, but we are here to learn and grow as people. We are student-athletes.

What else makes Mount Holyoke unique is our athletic community. Not only do I feel a bond with the members of my soccer team, I identify with the larger community of athletes. You’ll find that the community is the topic of constant discourse at Mount Holyoke. In all of my experience here, the athletics community is one place that has got community figured out. The crewtons I see in the weight room will ask how our last game went or how practices are going. The members of the basketball team will attend our games, and we’ll go to theirs. And the field hockey player in my afternoon class will offer me her notes if I have to miss class on a game day. There is a quiet confidence and comfort among the student-athletes at Mount Holyoke. We see each other and we know that in each of our different ways we are representing the school we are so proud of to attend - a school where women’s athletics never takes a backseat to men. We play not out of pride or for glory, but for the love of the game. We work hard in everything we do - on and off the field.

We represent a legacy of fit, progressive women. We represent a prestigious liberal arts college - the oldest women’s college in the nation. And we’re proud of that. In closing, I would like to remind you all the Mount Holyoke does have innumerable opportunities that are not related to athletics. I have come to love this small liberal arts college more than I thought possible through my participation in multiple activities and by meeting so many amazing women throughout this participation.

My experiences as a student, dancer, chemistry mentor and leader in student government have all been extremely rewarding. They have enabled me to become the confident, strong woman that I am today - ready to conquer my next adventure beyond the gates of Mount Holyoke. But, I assure you, as you all consider entering these gates as I depart, that the foundation which I have constructed my career upon at this outstanding institution was my participation as a varsity athlete. As my time on the team comes to an end, I know that the decision I made to attend Mount Holyoke has been the best I’ve made in my life, and while I will no longer be a part of the team next year, I know I will always be proud to say that I will forever be a part of Mount Holyoke Athletics.”