Just days after five women from Columbia University’s fencing team received All-America status and the Lions finished third in the NCAA Championships, former student-athletes convened at Barnard College for this year’s Beyond the Game event, “Building Communities of Care: Supporting Resilience in Women Athletes.” Moderated by Stef Manisero of NY-1, the panel discussed how sport has helped shape their lives and how having a team gave them support and community. Barnard competes as part of the Columbia-Barnard Athletic Consortium.
Tracey Bartholomew, Columbia head women’s soccer coach, said her first coaching job had a salary of $6,000, but after gaining experience, she earned coaching jobs at Colgate and LIU Brooklyn where she built her reputation. Last fall, Columbia earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Barnard alumna Trudi Patrick, a former swimmer who is now global product lead at Google, said, “There are so many parallels between the role that I played and now my role at Google. Barnard and Columbia prepared me to excel in my professional career.”
Patrick talked about starting her collegiate career with high expectations, but falling short. Her coaches directed her to a sports psychologist. Through that work and her team’s support, she became a record holder in the 200-meter butterfly and team captain. “[During an internship], I remembered some things that were unlocked in those conversations with the sports psychologist,” Patrick said.
In discussing mental health, Bartholomew said it’s important to build a sense of camaraderie and a safe environment within a team, so people can come forward if they are struggling. “If someone says they’re not OK, let’s just have a moment,” she said. “We’re stronger that way,”
Lauren Dwyer, who played on Columbia’s women’s basketball team and is now the senior director of growth & innovation at the WNBA, recalled one year when she and her teammates stayed on campus during spring break in hopes of getting a spot in the postseason WNIT. Although it didn’t happen, they made the most of their time together and shared the positives they took from their season.
“One of the four pillars of resilience is finding your purpose,” said Manisero. “Not only that, it’s helping others do the same and putting it in perspective…That mind-body connection is real and it’s powerful.”