SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Every day can feel like Girls and Women in Sports Day inside Mount Holyoke College's Kendall Sports and Dance Complex. But the actual National Girls & Women in Sports Day occurring today inspired a special day experienced on Saturday by both Lyons student-athletes and by the girls from Holyoke-based Girls Inc. of the Valley who came to campus.
Ten girls between ages 12-15 arrived at the Kendall parking lot in Girls Inc. vans on Saturday morning. Their campus experience would include a campus tour, lunch in Dining Commons, and a panel discussion with a selection of Mount Holyoke student-athletes, including Marion Abeja '23 (volleyball), Hannah Bisson '24 (lacrosse), Kyla Core '24 (squash), Annika Chai '25 (tennis), and Azuna Sawada '23 (equestrian). Head volleyball coach and co-advisor of the Athlete Empowerment Coalition Iris Carpio moderated the panel.
"I learned and took away a lot from that myself, but the panelists were great and the girls asked really good questions," said Acadia Ferrero-Lampron '23 of the equestrian team, who co-led the event with Liv Romanowsky '25 of the rowing team. "I loved hearing about the different student-athletes' experience in their sports and their answers to questions about stress, time management, and their role models."
After the panel discussion, the girls attended Mount Holyoke's squash match against Bard College, a 7-0 Lyons victory. Following the match was the highlight for many of the girls: a squash lesson with the team.
"The highlight of the day for me was working with the students from Girls Inc.," said Mount Holyoke head squash coach Erin Robson, who is co-advisor of the Athlete Empowerment Coalition and facilitated the lesson. "We were so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with these local students. The team did a great job teaching and connecting with them through our sport. It is important for the student-athletes on the squash team to have these experiences as mentors/coaches, even for one session."
The day was deemed a great way to recognize NGWSD, a national day of recognition passed by Congress in 1987 to acknowledge the accomplishments of female athletes, recognize the influence of sports participation for women and girls, and honor the progress and continuing struggle for equality for women in sports. Lyon student-athletes from rowing, squash, equestrian, field hockey, and lacrosse all took part.
"As someone who participated in this event the last time it happened on campus (in 2020), it was great to come back and lead it as a senior," said Ferrero-Lampron. "I felt like I got to share a lot of the things I love about Mount Holyoke and being a student-athlete at the same time that I got to learn about and connect with the girls.
"I hope the girls took away some inspiration to try something new and find out what their interests are, whether that be in athletics or in academics."
