Young Alumnae Form Lacrosse and Field Hockey Scholarships
8/23/2011 1:40:00 PM | DAF
First-ever awards to begin this fall.
DAVIDSON, N.C. --Young alumni supporting athletic scholarships is not a new idea at Davidson College; the remarkable effort behind the Will DuBose Baseball Scholarship has certainly proven that. However, when a group of female former athletes got together to create two scholarships, they became the first ever young alumnae at the college to do so.
It all began when then Davidson Athletic Foundation fellow and former lacrosse player Anna Mitchell '08 met with Jane Garnet Ishon Brown '05 to talk about Jane Garnet's support of athletics. What excited Jane Garnet about this scholarship was the potential message to other young women thinking of supporting Davidson athletics. “I can think of no better testament to the Davidson field hockey experience than for all of us who have benefitted from the program, to care enough about it to provide that experience to others,” she said.
Soon after, Anna approached lacrosse alumna Missy Gilbert '06 at a Davidson event, planting the seed for a lacrosse scholarship. Missy believes the key to a successful athletic program is the support of its alumni. “I think visible, active alumni create a sense of purpose and unity that makes a difference to incoming athletes, active team members and graduating athletes,” she said.
To most young alumni, funding a scholarship might seem impossible. By pooling their resources and breaking up the total into manageable pledge amounts, these young alumnae were able to contribute to the future of both programs.
An expendable scholarship funds $5,000 or more per year for four years, or a minimum total commitment of $20,000. For a young alumni scholarship, donors may contribute as a group of five or fewer young alumni (0-10 years out), each commiting a minimum of $1,000 per year and totaling $5,000 (or more) per year as a group. A scholarship will be awarded to the same student for four years at Davidson.
Both Missy and Jane Garnet became ambassadors for their respective programs and reached out to their former teammates via email. They each followed with individual contact to several of those teammates. A final push in June brought in all the pledge forms and finalized both scholarships.
Missy, Whitney Diefendorf Baran '05, Emily Diefendorf Higgs '08, Kiften Stephens '06, Alana Vaughn '07 and Anna have established the Young Alumnae Lacrosse Scholarship. This scholarship will be awarded this academic year.
Jane Garnet, Christina Auer '04, Kelly Brennan '07 and Catherine Ransone '08 have established the Young Alumnae Field Hockey Scholarship. This scholarship will be awarded to an incoming freshman field hockey player in the 2012-13 academic year.
“I would love to see more female student athletes get involved in the Young Alumnae Scholarship program,” Jane Garnet added. “I think it sends a strong signal to our fellow Davidson alumni and prospective players that we, as a community of former athletes, care enough about the program to do something like this.”
Head coaches Ginny Sutton and Kim Wayne, of the field hockey and lacrosse programs, were enthusiastic and honored to by the alumnae support. Both programs are members of very competitive leagues and know that recruiting quality athletes is key to success at both the conference and national level.
“Having more scholarship dollars gives us the ability to compete with every other team in our conference,” Coach Wayne explained. “Knowing that a student athlete's experience at Davidson meant so much that they are willing to give back is great for any coach to see.”
Finding the right type of student athlete that can meet Davidson's rigorous academic standards as well as compete at the Division I level means is a challenge; the competition for these players is stiff. Having the financial support to be able to offer scholarships is necessary to remaining competitive.
“It is important to have those scholarship dollars so we can compete with some of the top field hockey schools in the nation. While we are improving every year, the one thing we don't have are the scholarships to help make Davidson possible for some families,” Coach Sutton explained. “Having scholarship dollars will help us recruit more diversity and bring an even bigger group of talented players to our program.”
Coach Wayne agrees, “There is nothing harder than having to explain to a parent that I can't offer them any financial assistance. Scholarships will help eliminate that step.”
“If it wasn't for our former players, we would not have gotten to where we are today,” Coach Sutton said. “I am so thankful for all the support.”
In July, Anna was promoted to a new position within the DAF and will concentrate her efforts on cultivating more young alumni to remain engaged with Davidson. For more information on young alumni scholarships, contact Anna at 704-894-2611 or via email at anmitchell@davidson.edu.
Young Alumnae Field Hockey Scholarship Donors
Christina Auer '04
Kelly Brennan '07
Jane Garnet Ishon Brown '05
Catherine Ransone '08
Young Alumnae Lacrosse Scholarship Donors
Whitney Diefendorf Baran '05
Missy Gilbert '06
Emily Diefendorf Higgs '08
Anna Mitchell '08
Kiften Stephens '06
Alana Vaughn '07
