It’s that time of year again, cap and gown season!
Olivia Cattabriga / Equinox Staff
Keene State College’s Class of 2018 graduating seniors will be walking the stage on Saturday, May 5th. Although for some students this is not just the end of their college careers, but might also be the last of some athletic careers.
Now coming towards the end of spring sports, there are a few games left for the Owls. The seniors reflect back on their times here at KSC as student athletes.
Softball player Brittany DaMota said being a senior this year, playing sports overall has allowed her to, “Develop the skills and roles of a leader” and “learned the importance and effect she has on her teammates” when holding that higher position.
Over the past four years, students have grown, learned, and experienced new things during their time at Keene State College. DaMota said being a student athlete, “I feel as though it has shaped me into the person I am today. It has taught me how to work hard for what you want, to never give to up, and strive for success.”
Practice makes things perfect, but this is not always the case. Human beings including athletes can make errors.
The past four years here, DaMota said,“I have also learned that it’s okay to make mistakes sometimes, and you have to learn from them to better your future.
DaMota continued, that KSC has also taught her “ how to stay mentally tough” in complicated situations.
For the future, student athletes will walk away with experiences, relationships, and useful life skills both on and off the field.
“Being an athlete has been instrumental to my successes in life because it has allowed me to develop important qualities. I have learned how to work well with others in order to succeed and the importance of forming relationships with others to be successful,” DaMota said.
Fellow teammate Shae Crosby is also on the softball team with DaMota and said playing softball her whole life, it has led her to some great lifelong friendships.
“Playing softball also allows me to network with people and therefore give me references, and new opportunities. In college, softball has given me all these things, but the friendships were especially important because it’s really how I found my way at Keene,” Crosby said.
In life there will always be curveballs, whether you are prepared or not.
Crosby said that in softball there is “more failure than success” and they had to learn to “overcome adversities” and “learn to deal with challenges” especially unexpected ones.
Unfortunately some good things must come to an end, but this allows for endless new beginnings. Appreciating things while you have them is important when it comes to being able to play sports Crosby said…
“You really have to appreciate playing while you have the chance. It is such a big part of your life and then all of a sudden, it’s just done. I think that taking advantage of the great moments in your life is a really important idea to keep in mind, and I will even share this with my students in my future classroom.”
No other sources were able to respond in the time frame of print.
Julia Eichman can be contacted at jeichman@kscequinox.com
