How Was Your Summer? - Kayla Grossett

Today, we embark upon a 17-part journey, detailing the events of the summer by our players and coaches, in their own words.

This summer was a time of growth, memories and achievements. It's a bittersweet thought, but this past summer will be my last one with The Mount as a student-athlete. Who knows what the future holds for me? However, one thing I now know is that I have to cherish the things, and relationships I have now and avoid dwelling on the things that I can't completely control. Jim Rohn said, "Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present."

After the 10th attempt at taking a group selfie, I think we finally got it! :)

This summer was fun, and I had many opportunities to strengthen the relationships I had with my teammates. The one night I especially remember is Jenn Carney's birthday night when we all had the chance to get together and enjoy a good night before leaving for our 2 weeks at home. We shared good times, and good pictures.  This one night personifies the fun that I had all summer. The summer has taught me to have fun, be strong and live smart. God Bless.

 

#20 Kayla Grossett

Brooke Blain Class of 2006

Brooke Blain, class of 2006, is currently an Assistant menswear buyer for Universal Gear in Washington, D.C. She graduated from The Mount with a Bachelors in Business with a double concentration in Management and Sports Management.  Upon graduation Brooke moved to Miami to pursue a degree in Fashion Design. After getting her degree, she moved back home and dressed mannequins for Macy's top store in this region. Let's see what she has to say about her experiences at The Mount.  

First, I want to start this off by saying it is truly a pleasure to be a Mount Saint Mary’s University graduate. Almost seven years ago I graduated from the Mount and since then I have come to realize that I have taken away many great personal attributes from my experience…  The most important of those great attributes being perseverance and humility.

I met and learned perseverance during those early weightlifting sessions, surviving those countless loop and mile runs and pushing through every practice striving to become a better athlete.

In those same moments I came to know humility through getting to know and love my teammates/sisters, understanding my coaches and learning to become apart of a program as special as the Mount’s.

Without question, discovering these attributes while being a student-athlete at the Mount has changed my life. 

Even now as a Buyer I have to call on these attributes time and time again. On a daily basis I use perseverance when planning and executing time sensitive deadlines. There have even been times where I have had to humble myself to work with countless work personalities to accomplish a common goal.

It has been an honor to be a student athlete at Mount Saint Mary’s University. It was and has continued to be one of the best decisions of my life. I want to personally thank the Mount and the Women’s Basketball Program for awarding me with an opportunity I will never forget.

- Brooke Blain '06

Brooke returned to The Mount with teammates for Homecoming weekend. 

            FROM L to R:  Jillian Franklin (c/o '07), Samira Rashid (c/o '06), Hassanah Oliver (c/o '10), LaToya Butler (c/o '07), Brooke Blain (c/o '06), Brianna Gauthier (c/o '09), Shanda Anderson (c/o '10)

Brooke against University of Maryland, November 2005. 

Brooke Blain, Samira Rashid, Lilka Adams

Class of 2006 

Brooke most recently returned to campus for Homecoming weekend 2013, and was our Honorary Coach!!  

Selina Mann wins Kolon Award

Last week The Mount had their annual Blue/White banquet hosted by the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC). Each team was honored during the banquet and their head coach talked about their accomplishments from the past season. Coach Whitten honored our seniors, Tara Lonergan and Selina Mann as well as announced our team MVP's. 

This year, we had Co-MVP’s for the season: Selina Mann and Redshirt Junior Sydney Henderson.   After each team presented their individual awards, the athletic department presented the winners of the Kolon Award and the Sheridan Award.   The Kolon Award goes to the student-athletes, who through hard work and determination has earned the respect and admiration of his or her fellow athletes and coaches, and who, through inspirational effort has displayed the determination exemplified by the late Jack Kolon.  Selina Mann won the Kolon award, along with Brett Schmidt from the Men’s Lacrosse team! 

We are so proud of Selina!

 

Career Week : Finances

Last week, The Mount Career Center hosted it's annual Student-Athlete Career week. Each night there were different topics about the transitions from the court to the office. Let's see what Junior Jessie Kaufman and Sophomore Jenn Carney learned about life after college in the "real world".

Jessie Kaufman :

We were given the opportunity to meet with professionals to review our resumes, practice interviews, and receive information on the business world.  As a student-athlete, sometimes we forget that the student comes before the athlete.  With only a year left at the Mount, I find myself more recently asking myself questions like, “what am I going to do after school?” what kind of job am interested in? or “how am I going to pay for food, rent, or even a car when I leave college?” This career week definitely helped clarify a lot of my unanswered questions.

Out of the whole week, one guest speaker stuck out to me more than others.   I was able to listen to a representative from Hanover Capital Management Group talk about how to manage finances after college.   Honestly as a college student, I have paid very little attention to managing my finances after school.  After hearing the representative speak about debt, and how to manage your money after college to help decrease this debt, I truly found a new appreciation for the word scholarship.  The amount of debt college kids’ face in student-loans after college is unreal.  It is no wonder managing our money is such an important topic.  Saving at an early age is what is going to help college students be more successful financially after school.  This career week helped me learn how to save, what to save, and how to spend my money wisely after school.  It is safe to say that every extra dollar, penny, nickel and dime I find is now going straight into my piggy bank! Got to start saving now for my dream car!!!

Jenn Carney:

During Career Week, I attended “Finding Your Financial Footing”, which was presented by Mark Riggs. Mr. Riggs is the co-founder and co-owner of Hanover Financial and is a Mount graduate. He talked to us about four main topics: saving, debt, insurance, and retirement funds. Mr. Riggs provided information on these topics in a very basic and relatable way that was easy to understand.

Mr. Riggs presented a lot of useful information. He taught us about which types of debt is the worst and which should be paid off fastest. He also spoke about different types of life insurance that which would be the best. Mr. Riggs answered many questions I had about applying for and using a credit card and when the appropriate time would be. Lastly, he provided us easy ways to save money from each paycheck to provide for retirement and to help in case of emergencies.

Check out Mount Athletics video of the event here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bCIo0C8ri-k#! 

Alumni Spotlight: Kristin Scheitrum C/O 2011

Recently, we caught up with Mount Alum Kristin Scheitrum (c/o 2011) and asked her about her experience at Mount St. Mary's University.  Kristin is from Macungie, PA where she attended Emmaus High School. Upon graduation, Kristin took a marketing internship with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Triple-A Affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.  At the conclusion of the internship she was hired full-time as Manager of Corporate Partnerships.  Just recently, she accepted a new position as Client Services Coordinator for the Chicago Sky WNBA team. 

My experience at The Mount as a student-athlete was a little different than the norm, but something to remember forever.  I went to The Mount to play basketball with the plan of playing with my classmates/teammates for four years.  However, the life path I was on took a little detour and after suffering an injury at the beginning of my sophomore season, I thought I would never have the opportunity to play again.

I remained on the team and joined in everything – lifting, practice, film, etc.  I was able to contribute what I could as a practice player and as an extra set of eyes on the bench during the games.  But most importantly, I was able to be with my teammates, who became my family and best friends.  Despite not playing on the court with them all the time, we grew together through countless experiences and times that shaped us for the future.  Still to this day, they are some of my best friends.

While this life-changing experience was tough to grasp at the time, I came to appreciate even more, all The Mount had to offer outside of the gym.  On the academic side, my four years were filled with professors that have made significant impacts on my life.  The small classes allowed for more personal attention and the professors truly gave it to us.  Rarely were my classes taught out of books, but through real-world experiences.  I can’t imagine getting much more out of an education that what I got out of The Mount. 

The relationships I built at The Mount are truly what made my experience so blessed.  It’s a tight-knit, close community that supports each other through everything.  After college, people go many different ways but we all know that we have one same place in our heart, and regardless of the separation, we never grow apart.

 

Kristin did suffer a career ending injury, however she did suit up for her Senior Night.   With 1:05 left in the game, Coach Whitten called a timeout and Scheitrum checked in to the game.  After the timeout, junior Sandra Andresson inbounded the ball to freshman Ashley Christie , who dribbled around the 3-point line and then came back to the top of the key to find Scheitrum with on a bounce pass around the foul line. Scheitrum took one dribble, turned and went up for a left-handed shot that tickled the twine with 55 seconds left for her final collegiate basket. The crowd went WILD!!  Check out the video of this moment here : http://www.mountathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2010-11/releases/20110714s3uuop   It was one of the most memorable moments in Mount Women's basketball.

 

To read more about her injury and her journey here is a great article written by her hometown newspaper. http://articles.mcall.com/2009-12-05/sports/4487739_1_damage-forces-nerve-damage-cord-damage 

 

Leah Westbrooks, Mary Dunn, Kristin Scheitrum on Senior Night 2011.

Kristin signing autographs after the game

Seniors being Seniors.

 

Kristin's shot during Senior Night

Left Handed!!!

Mrs. & Mr. Scheitrum

Kristin  pictured with Riley & Taylor, her new sisters!

 

Still best friends: Kristin, Leah & Mary last summer.

Catching up with Alum Mary Dunn (c/o 2011)

We caught up with Mount St. Mary’s University Alum Mary Dunn the other day and asked her all about her experiences as a student-athlete at The Mount.  Mary Dunn, Class of 2011, was a four year starter for the women’s basketball program from 2007-2011.  She came to the Mount from Whippany, NJ,   where she attended Morris Catholic High School. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, she played professionally in Puerto Rico for Mets de Guaynabo. Dunn is currently a graduate assistant for the Bethune-Cookman Women’s Basketball Program, working on her masters in Transformative Leadership.

·      My experience attending the Mount was probably typical for most student-athletes. Who could ever forget 6 am weights, running hills with our strength coach, or two-a-days at the start of the season? Being a student-athlete at the Mount was definitely a challenge, but no matter how tough it got, we knew we would get through it together - as a family.

I had a great 4 years at the Mount as a member of the Women’s Basketball team, and from the second I left Emmitsburg, I knew it wasn’t about the wins or losses, but the relationships that blossomed over my career. I can truly say that I left the Mount with life-long friends, and memories that I will never forget. The Mount gave me the opportunity to meet amazing teammates who turned into my best friends, whom I continue to lean on and learn from to this day.

My coaches, professors and administration during my time at the Mount have all influenced who I am today in my life and career. It is a tight-knit community that always went out of their way to get to know me as a person, and was always willing to help. They have become my frame of reference moving forward in my life because of the respect that I have for them and all that they have done for me.

I will always look back on my time at the Mount as a student-athlete, and be thankful for the opportunity that I was given to succeed and grow to my full potential. I will always be proud to be a member of the Mount family, and look forward to every chance I get to go back and visit my alma mater.

Mary Dunn Graduate Assistant at Bethune Cookman University

In Puerto Rico playing for Mets de Guaynabo

Senior Year at The Mount

Senior Night with her parents & Coach Whitten

 

Saluting our Seniors

Saturday night we honored our seniors, Tara Lonergan and Selina Mann, for their time here as Mountaineers. It was our second to last home game in Knott Arena and we pulled out the victory for our seniors! We won our last home game Monday night against Long Island University, and now we will be hitting the road for our last trip of the regular season at Farleigh Dickinson and Monmouth.  With our win on Monday night, we have clinched an NEC playoff berth!

It is hard to believe that it is senior night has already come and gone for these girls. They have had great careers and still have so much to achieve before they leave us.

Selina Mann, our point guard and tri-captain has been a floor general for our squad this year. Selina had a season high 20 points against UMES back in November at home. She does a great job distributing the ball and finding our shooters, she recorded 8 assists against LIU and 7 assists against Seton Hall, Robert Morris, and CCSU. She started the year 10th in program history in assists and has been moving her way up the ranks all season. Selina is also one of our best defenders, stepping up to the plate and guarding our opponent’s top guard. She had her season high 6 steals against Wagner. Prior to this season she ranked 6th all-time in steals at The Mount. Selina had 4 assists and 3 steals against LIU on Monday and 7 rebounds and 3 assists against St. Francis on Saturday.


Tara Lonergan has been a solid forward for our women's basketball program for the past four years. She has a very nice touch around the basket and one of the fastest post players in the conference. Tara has really stepped up in her senior season hitting a career high 15 points against Wagner. She grabbed seven boards at CCSU, Wagner and at home against CCSU. She ranks 8th in program history in blocked shots as a sophomore with 20 for the season. Tara ended up with 10 points against LIU on Monday, and 12 points in our win on Saturday for Senior Night.

Let's Go Selina Let's Go!

Taraaaaa!

 

Full Court DEFENSE! 



Running the play!