Thoreau once said, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you imagined.”
With my choice of coming to Albertus to play softball, this quote definitely helped me. I broke my clavicle my senior year of high school, and the doctors said the only way to continue to play softball was to have surgery. With that in mind I had to tell Coach Emielita about the predicament that I was in, whether it be to never play softball again or have the surgery and see if he’d have faith that I could work back to where I was before my injury. When he told me that he would be there and work with me, that was when I knew my home would be at Albertus.
With this, I worked as hard as I could to come Albertus and be able to win a starting spot on the roster within a year after my injury. Coach Emielita had faith in me that this was going to be worth it. Why give up on your dream when you still believe it and when others also believe you can overcome the biggest downfall in your life. Once I got to college I worked harder than I ever had previously because now I had to make up for what was lost. My freshman year my stats were crazy, no one in the GNAC expected someone to come in from little Albertus and make such a huge impact. My freshman year I was voted GNAC Rookie of the Year as well as GNAC Player of the year which was a first in the history of the GNAC. I was also named NFCA Northeast Second Team and All GNAC Honors. I was named Rookie and Female Athlete of the Year my freshman year as well as Albertus Magnus Female Athlete my sophomore year.
Being a part of the softball team, I was again named to NFCA Northeast Second Team, GNAC Honors, and my junior year I was again named GNAC player of the year. My junior year I think had the biggest effect on me because I broke many of the school records, but also my own high stats. No matter where we stood in rankings or how far behind we were in a game, this team stuck together and we made the best out of everything we had. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to not only break the winning record my freshman year, but then turn around and do it again my junior year.
This is my final year at Albertus, and I have been through a decent amount of teammates from graduating or just choosing that they just didn’t want to play anymore. In all honesty, of these other five seniors that have stuck it out with me and stayed part of such a great organization, I can say that they not only helped me but each of them have impacted me in their own special way. I could not ask for a better group of girls to end my experience with and I will cherish every single second this season. I have them with me until the very end.
The softball organization has changed my life and shaped me into the young woman I have become while taking part in a collegiate sport. Most of all, big thanks, especially from me, go to the coaching staff. Without this coaching staff, I would not have been able to see the best that I could be, they never once gave up on the team but more importantly especially did not give up on me especially after an injury that most people aren’t supposed to come back from. Without the support of my team and my coaches I would not have had numerous opportunites to travel the world and play softball. The only invitation that I have ever expected while playing here was going to play softball in the beautiful city of Cape Town, South Africa. The bond that I have with not only my teammates but the coaches are one that I would cherish for a life time.
During my time at Albertus, I had the opportunity to be a SOC (Student Orientation Counselor) for two of my four years. This helped me learn how to make connections with incoming students. We come in a week before school starts and we decorate the Behan Community Room, the Pub, and the surrounding hallways to whatever theme we have chosen. We prep for all the new students, both freshman and transfers, coming in. I can honestly say these past two years have been an experience of a life time because I have bonded with many freshman and created friendships.
Here at Albertus I am also a tour guide. I chose to be a tour guide because I want to help students who are considering Albertus make sure Albertus is the right decision not only from an athlete’s perspective but also as a student who does more within the Albertus community.
For more information about playing Softball at Albertus, please contact Coach Ed Emielita at eemielita@albertus.edu.
By Gillian Fortier, Class of 2018