Throughout their season, which lasts from September to mid-February, the team partakes in a rigorous practice schedule. Each week, they start practices at 5:45 a.m. on Monday mornings, followed by a second practice along with a lift in the middle. Despite this time commitment, the seniors couldn’t imagine a world where they weren’t swimming.

Weber has been swimming competitively since she was nine years old, and Ferrari since she was eight.

“For me, I could not have pictured my life without swimming, and it’s really difficult for me to picture my life in the future without swimming,” Weber said. “I think a lot of that has to do with how swimmers really work hard and I like the feeling of being with my team and getting through a really tough set together, or joking around on the bus on the way to a meet, or eating dinner together after practice. Those are things that I really value and I know I’m gonna miss once I graduate. But I think I’m lucky that every single team I’ve been on has been a really great group of people that are all super dedicated, super hardworking, and also willing to have fun.”

Ferrari appreciates the swim team for the values that they share.

“Swimmers as a group of people are really interesting and dedicated,” Ferrari said. “ There’s a certain value to them that other people — I don’t know, I don’t want to say ‘don’t always have,’ but there’s just something about swimmers and the culture that a swim team builds in my life that I really always wanted to keep. It’s kind of weird to be graduating and think of myself as a swimmer and over my competitive career per se. But honestly, that team environment and team culture and just the mentality of a swimmer — that I don’t even know how to describe.”

In contrast to some other sports, being named captain is not an election process, but instead decided by the coaches who use their judgment and receive recommendations from previous captains. Both seniors were named captains at the end of their second year and have continued to remain in the position since.

“I know in other sports, the best players are often chosen to be the captains, and that’s definitely not how it works on the swim team,” Weber said. “We’re not the fastest people on the team, so I think a lot of our role is being a role model to other people, so that’s a big responsibility. Also, serving as an intermediary between the coaches and the team, although we’ve been trying to kind of change the leadership structure a little bit so that more people can feel included and feel like they have a voice directly to the coaches.”

Swimming is both a team sport and an individual sport. Swimmers race against competitors to improve their own times while competing to improve the team’s standing, and working to improve their technique and endurance. As captain of a team unique in this way, Ferrari emphasizes the spatial awareness needed to navigate being captain of a swim team.

“I feel like you have to be aware of your mindset and where you are because obviously you need to be in the mindset to go out and race and be hyped and excited for your races,” Ferrari said. “But also, at the same time, watching out for the team and noticing, ‘Oh, maybe this person is really anxious about this event, or they’re nervous before this’ and just taking a second and talking with them and helping them get ready for their races is a lot of work. I also did that as a teammate and a member of our team, so I don’t think that was a behavioral shift once I became a captain.”

Weber points out that a common misconception people have about swimming is that it is solely individual, when in reality, swimming as a sport would not be attainable if you were by yourself.

“When it comes to a meet, yes, it’s just you and the pool, and that’s what it really is,” Weber said. “But, whatever you do, whatever place you get, that determines the points for the team. At the end of the day, your contribution can decide whether or not the team wins.”

Out of season, the captains run captains’ practices, which are lower-stakes and meant to keep the team in shape. During this time,
the team lifts, swims, and plays occasional water-polo games.

“We are also in charge of the team’s Swouse,” Ferrari notes.

“Swouse” is the term the team uses to refer to the swim house.

This team is very closely bonded and spends the majority of their time together, both in and out of the pool. Weber notes how at their last conference meet last year, which is hosted at Denison University every year, the team was just as engaged and excited as the beginning.

“I’ve never had more fun than our conference meet last year,” Weber said. “Everyone was swimming so hard and doing their best, but also you could see that our team was having more fun than any other team there. We were just joking around with each other. So it’s definitely the people that make the team.”

Weber and Ferrari’s first season occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, so they aren’t familiar with how the team operated pre-pandemic. As a result, they have prioritized creating new traditions. They express how much the team has changed since their first year, and they are working hard to ensure the culture stays the same once they leave.

One of their favorite traditions is the team brunch hosted at the start of each year, which the class of 2024 started as an opportunity to get to know the new first-years and reconnect as a team after the summer. This year, all the fourth-years on the women’s team are housemates, so they invited the team to their house to reconnect.

“Also, as a women’s team, in the fall we always go apple picking and go to corn mazes and do fun fall activities,” Ferrari said.

Going into their second year as captains, Ferrari and Weber are experienced in motivating the team to work hard and push each other. Now, their goals have shifted to ensuring they leave a positive legacy for the program.

“Swimming is a hard sport,” Ferrari said. “It’s a lot of time where you can’t talk to people, you’re in the water, your head down, and it can be very hard mentally. So just making practices fun, and making that team environment as fun as it can be, is kind of what I’ve been trying to work on the most.”

Weber explains her shifts in goals during her second year as captain.

“At first it was more about trying to figure out how to be the best leader I could, and I think that’s still true, but also with the mindset of like, ‘I’m going to be leaving this team soon, so how can I help foster the best team environment I possibly can?’” Weber said. “How can I make it inclusive so that people feel like their voices are heard? How can I make sure that people are having fun and actually enjoying practice, enjoying the need to not take anything too seriously for myself, for my team now, but
also to set them up?”

Outside of swim, the captains balance various extracurriculars along with their jobs working for the Admissions Office.

Ferrari works as a senior fellow with Admissions, a peer tutor, and an Environmental Studies major representative. She also does research with Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Andrew Pike, OC ’08, on mosquitoes in Lorain County. She is one of the
officers of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and also volunteers weekly with Oberlin Community Services.

Weber also works for Admissions as a tour guide and is part of OSteel, Oberlin’s steel pan ensemble. Along with this, she is an America Reads tutor and has been in the same fifth-grade classroom at Oberlin Elementary tutoring English language for multiple years. She also does research for the Anthropology department. Last summer, Weber did a study-abroad internship in Peru where she worked at an non-governmental organization in Cusco that works with Indigenous people. This past summer, she worked in Cleveland at Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services as an immigration legal intern.

Cranmer wasn’t always a rugby player. As a kid, he was an offensive lineman on his youth football team, but always wished that he had more action than blocking. When he was 15, his friends, who were also offensive linemen, started playing rugby and got to run with the ball, so he decided to give it a shot, too.

“What really got me interested [in rugby] is that I played football, and I played on the offensive line, and I saw my friends who were also on the offensive line,” Cranmer said. “They were allowed to run with the ball [in rugby] and I really wanted to do that, so I ended up trying out … and started playing.”

Cranmer was looking for schools that had elite rugby programs during his college search and was heavily influenced by his peers’ experiences at Bowling Green.

“My coaches both played rugby [at Bowling Green], and I had a lot of friends that played there too,” Cranmer said. “I actually got a small scholarship to go there and play, so that was really cool.”

Rugby is not a varsity sport under the NCAA, so Cranmer competed on Bowling Green’s varsity club team, which means the team is only partially funded by the school. The Falcons are a part of the Division I-AA conference and play against other top varsity club teams, including The Ohio State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Michigan. They were recently ranked second in the nation by the National Collegiate Rugby Coaches’ Poll. 

As a part of the Falcons, Cranmer was a flanker, which means he was mostly in charge of support. His main tasks on the field were to ensure his team kept possession of the ball and making tackles on defense. 

Since they were a top team, the Falcons went on multiple national and international trips for competitions while Cranmer was part of the team. Although those trips were exciting and memorable, they aren’t what Cranmer misses the most about his playing days.

“The parts I miss the most are just the camaraderie, being around teammates,” he said. “I just really miss the camaraderie and the competitiveness — that’s something I definitely still wish I had in my life, something to compete in.”

Although Cranmer’s collegiate career was filled with highlights, it wasn’t all positive. He dealt with injuries that took him out of the game and required a lot of time and patience during recovery.

“I had an AC joint injury: I separated my shoulder my [third] year, so that put me out for a good three or four months,” Cranmer said. “That was really disheartening just because I couldn’t play and it was very painful — even sleeping was uncomfortable depending on my position. But definitely the biggest challenge was just dealing with injuries.” 

The Falcons have consistently been at the top of collegiate rugby for a few years and have gone all the way to the national championship game in back-to-back years. However, Cranmer wasn’t able to win during his time at Bowling Green.

“We lost in the national championship game my senior year, so that was very, very tough to go through, but we bounced back the following year and they ended up winning,” Cranmer said. “It was right after I graduated, so I wasn’t eligible anymore, but I’m proud to be a member of that team without being on the field.”

Growing up, Cranmer always knew that he wanted to pursue sports as his career, preferably working with athletes as a trainer or coach. As a former collegiate athlete, he understands the commitment it takes to be a student athlete as well as the toll it can take on a player’s mental and physical health. That’s why he approaches his job as an athletic trainer with an open and understanding mind.

“Rugby, in general, gives me some perspective on what athletes go through and how to approach an athlete versus how not to,” Cranmer said. “I tend to check in, make sure [my athletes] are feeling good about the workout, help [them] out, of course, if [they] need it. I think knowing what I needed as an athlete from a strength coach now helps me provide that to our athletes here at Oberlin. I also understand that [athletes] have to dedicate a lot of time to [their] sport and [are] also students and very busy so I understand that there’s going to be ups and downs, sometimes stress is higher. Let’s not add on to that by being a screaming, yelling coach or making the workout too intense depending on what’s going on during the season.”

This is Cranmer’s first year at Oberlin, and he is looking forward to connecting more with his athletes and pushing them to be the best they can be.

“The athletes are fun, the students are too, and I think Oberlin is a great place,” Cranmer said. “I’m really excited to be a part of it.”

Since softball is a spring sport, they do not participate in games in the fall — except for Fall Ball, one day when the team can play up to three games. On Oct. 7, the team hosted Ursuline College, an NCAA Division II school, and lost 6–4. 

“We played a DII [team], but we were definitely able to hold our own, which was great,” Brito said. “We lost a few players from last year, so it’s taken us a while to see where all the pieces are going to be for this year. Especially after play day, we have a much clearer idea of how our defense is going to shape up, and it’s looking really good.” 

Throughout the fall the team is allotted a set number of practices, which start in early September. After these, the team then transitions to captains’ practices for the rest of the fall, led by Austin, Brito, and Di Dio. In addition, they lift two to three times a week. 

The three housemates have all played softball for many years. Austin has been playing since elementary school. 

“It was the first sport I ever played and I just stuck with it because I like pitching so much,” Austin said. “[I] essentially [have] control on the mound and we just get to be outside with our friends. It’s a good environment and it teaches you a lot. I’ve learned so much about dedication and teamwork from travel ball and then playing in college, and it builds a really strong community.”

Brito has been playing softball since she was four years old. She hasn’t stopped playing because her mom never got the opportunity to continue playing after high school. 

“I really like it, but I mostly play because my mom didn’t get to,” Brito said. “She had my brother when she was 17, [so] she had to quit. So, I keep playing for her.”

Di Dio credits softball as her break from school, which motivated her to keep playing at Oberlin. 

“In high school and now, it’s a time to get away from academics and responsibilities,” Di Dio said. “It’s like structured hanging-out time with your friends; it’s your favorite people and you get to see them every day. Our team is so close-knit.”

In their house, the fourth-years have a cherished cone, a softball tradition. Each year, the softball fourth-years pass on a giant megaphone cone to the next group of fourth-years, with each graduating class signing the interior. Maria Roussos, OC ’18, came back during homecoming and noticed the megaphone cone sitting in their living room.

“She goes, ‘I cannot believe you guys still have this cone,’” Di Dio said. “And we’re like, ‘What?’ She’s like, ‘I started this when I was in school, when I was a [first-year].’ One of her [fourth-years] gave it to her. When you’re a [fourth-year], you sign the cone — under the cone, there’s a list of names from all these years past. She came and saw it in our house and she’s like, ‘I am so glad someone still has it. I thought it’d be thrown away right now. But I like that you guys are keeping the tradition forward. You have to give it to the next house.’”

Outside of softball, the three are constantly busy with other extracurricular activities, which the team is incredibly supportive of. Over the summer, Brito had the opportunity to study in Japan through the Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment Grant as an East Asian Studies minor. When she did her LIASE presentation at the beginning of the school year, the team came and watched her present. When Di Dio presented at the Undergraduate Research Symposium last year, she received similar support from her teammates and coaches who came to her presentation.

Since her second year at Oberlin, Brito has worked at the Multicultural Resource Center and as a manager at the Dionysus Disco. Over the last year and a half, she has been working with 15 different minority student groups on an archive for minority student groups on campus. She has gotten the school to approve a digital database, which will be uploaded to the Oberlin College Library server, and a physical archive, which will be in Wilder Hall. After Oberlin, she plans to take a gap year on campus to continue working on this project. Later, she plans to go into information science and archiving with a focus on social justice, library science, and information access. 

“There’s not many schools that are doing that,” Brito said. “I’m very excited.”

Di Dio is a peer tutor for Psychology and Statistics classes as well as a PRSM trainer on campus. She has been in multiple labs and assisted Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics Adam J. Howat in formulating a study investigating political identity and affective polarization. She currently does research at the Michigan State University Twin Registry, where she’s mainly focused on studying the etiology and development of externalizing behavior, specifically antisocial behavior. She presented her research in Spain at the annual meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association. She’s currently applying to Ph.D. programs in clinical science and psychology, where she hopes to continue her work or go into the field of behavioral genetics. 

Austin does research in the Ryno Lab in the Biochemistry department, looking at changes in the transcriptome of arabinose-treated E. coli. This summer, she participated in a nuclear and radiochemistry summer school program at San Jose State University, where she learned about the basics of nuclear chemistry and visited the Livermore National Laboratory and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Now, she’s looking at graduate schools for radiochemistry or biochemistry.

When asked about advice she would give to her first-year self, Austin was nostalgic about her time here. 

“Just enjoy the things that Oberlin has to offer, because it’s going by so quickly,” Austin said. “It’s over already, and we have to cherish these last moments, like going to Long Island Night.”

Di Dio believes that one’s first-year and fourth-year selves are very different. 

“A lot changes between first year and fourth year,” Di Dio said. “You think you might have it figured out, but you don’t — roll with the changes.”

Growing up in San Diego, Sweet’s first love was basketball. She did not start playing volleyball until sixth grade, when she joined a recreational team, and didn’t join her first club team for two more years. 

“I started club [volleyball] in eighth grade,” Sweet said. “I was not good. I was actually terrible. I was so bad in my first tournament my coach told the setter not to set me anymore. They just put me up there to block. I was just a big girl on the team.” 

The same coach, Coach Liz, became one of Sweet’s biggest mentors.

“She was willing to work with me and saw the potential in me,” Sweet said. “I would go in for individuals and privates pretty much every weekend. I would stay after, and we would drill it over and over and over. I went to every workout she held, getting me to hit how she wanted me to hit and getting me to block how she wanted me to. I was super dedicated that year. I always thank her for seeing the potential in me and not just seeing me as another ‘tall girl.’”

Now, over six years later, rather than avoiding setting her, the team does everything they can to get her the ball for what she calls the best feeling in volleyball: a hard overpass. It’s tied for first with a stuff block.

The women’s volleyball team has jumped to a 10–3 start this year. Sweet partially credits their success to dance parties. If you do not see the team on time for warmups at home games, do not worry. They are getting down to Sweet’s favorite artist, Childish Gambino, or Beyonce’s “Energy.” 

“Before games, we’re in the locker room dancing,” Sweet said. “We are literally having a dance party. No skills work, no game talk, nothing. We turn on some good music and dance there.”

The tradition started this year in their first tournament, when Sweet shared AirPods with fourth-year setter Taylor Gwynne. 

“We were dancing to music because we wanted to get warm,” Sweet said. “We didn’t want to do another warmup. We killed it in that game. After that, we thought, ‘Let’s just have a dance party before every game.’ That’s why we went on that nine-game winning streak.” 

Sweet also mentioned that the team’s only three losses this season came when they did not have a pregame dance party. 

When Sweet joined the team as a first-year, she was comforted by the racial diversity of the team and a team culture that celebrates diversity. Today, nearly half of the team are women of color.

“When I came in, the team was almost 50 percent Black, which is almost unheard of for volleyball; that never happens,” Sweet said. “It was really fun to come into a team where I could share my culture and [be around] people who can share my experiences, and we can talk about those things.”

The success and atmosphere the team created this season can, in part, be accredited to hardships the program faced last year. Last year, in a non-conference away game, the opposing team’s student section yelled racial slurs at one of Sweet’s teammates. 

“It was a really hard thing for all of us to go through,” Sweet said. “But it made us stronger, coming together and being able to stand up against something like that and supporting each other through that. This year, we were asked to play them again, and the whole team stood together and said, no, we’re not going to give them the privilege of playing us because we were wronged by the culture of that school. After that talk, we had one of the best practices we’ve had all season. It showed the unity and love that we have within the team. People know they are going to have to fight for things  they maybe never had to think about before, but that mindset really brings us together.” 

The team’s connection stems deeper than volleyball. Their relationship is rooted in perseverance and being there for one another. 

“We sent a message to any other team that plays us: we’re not going to take you saying anything to any of our teammates,” Sweet said. “Any other team in our conference and all across DIII, you have the power to make these decisions. We have a responsibility to take care of our POC teammates and to make sure that we all come together in support of one another.”

Nye has a real love for his team, who he says he has a “really special connection with,” and credits them for making his Oberlin experience so enjoyable.

“Ever since I came here, people were just so nice to me,” Nye said. “You want to pick a college that’s a great school where you can make easy friends and be happy with the guys around you. You can be as good as you want, but if you’re not happy with the people that you’re with, I don’t think that there’s much of a chance to stay there. So, you know, what keeps me going every day is the people I’m around, the team, they always have my back.”

Nye faced stiff competition in training camp, battling against five other quarterbacks, including four first-years, for the starting job. Even after he was named the starter, the quarterback room was completely supportive of him while pushing each other to be better. This healthy team dynamic has been reinforced by the introduction of John Pont as the team’s new head coach. 

Nye said that Coach Pont came in and totally changed the team’s culture. He gave Nye another chance at quarterback and let him use his creativity as a weapon, not an impediment. 

“[Coach Pont] always tells me that he gives me the keys to the offense,” Nye said. “He said he gives me the plays, but you know, I am really in command of the offense. I can change anything if I see something, you know, that he might not see on the sidelines [but] I see on the field. I can change it whenever because he said, ‘If you see something, take it.’”

Last year, Nye was struggling to adjust from high school football to the collegiate level and was switched over from a quarterback to a wide receiver because he wasn’t adapting quickly enough to the team’s offensive philosophy. He felt that he wasn’t given the room to grow and develop under last year’s coaching staff, and that the lack of creativity and individual thought hindered his ability as a player. However, Coach Pont’s arrival was exactly what Nye needed to get his mojo back.

“I feel like last year, part of the reason for me not being successful at the quarterback position was I wasn’t really confident,” Nye said. “I couldn’t quite be myself back there. And [Pont], ever since spring ball, he just let me play. So, you know, letting me play was a big thing for me. And his offensive philosophy was a lot simpler to learn. And once I knew the playbook, we just had a special bond from the start, so I’m really happy that he came here.”

Although Oberlin suffered a tough defeat to Denison University last week, the team earned their first win in two years the week prior, thanks to Pont’s arrival and Nye’s heroic efforts. Nye downplayed his role in the win but will always remember the joyful environment after the game. 

“It was definitely … a special moment just seeing everyone smile after the game,” Nye said. “I haven’t seen that in two years since high school. The support that we had from the students was incredible, you know, the stadium was loud. Everyone was rushing the field after the game — it was like we won the championship. In the locker room after the game, everyone was just so happy. It was great to see everyone come together and win the football game because we haven’t done that in so long.”

Winning the game was an incredibly sweet reward for the hard work the team has put in this year. Nye’s individual efforts in the game earned him an additional honor – the North Coast Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week Award for a Football Offensive Player. His four-touchdown performance, along with his 231 passing yards and 150 rushing yards, was the best of the week in the conference. 

Nye remained humble about the recognition and was quick to credit his teammates, saying that it would not have been possible without their exceptional performances as well.

“I was a little surprised,” Nye said about the accolade. “But, obviously, my teammates did a great job helping me, getting me in that position. My [offensive] line did incredibly well all week — in that game, they gave me so much time to make the right reads. My receivers got open for me and did a phenomenal job all game. And, you know, I just had so much time to be comfortable in the pocket and escape every time, anytime I want. … It was a whole team effort. I wouldn’t win Athlete of the Week without my receivers or without the linemen or the defense coming up big at the end to win that game.”

Nye also credited his father with all of the success he has had in his football career. His dad worked his way up from Division III football at Bowdoin College to a tryout with the New York Giants and was Nye’s coach for most of his football journey. Nye said his dad pushed him to come to Oberlin and that he motivates him to be his best self every day. 

For the rest of the year, Nye wants the team to give their all to every game they play, regardless of the opponent. He is excited about all the young talent on the team and the positive attitude the coaching staff continues to reinforce, regardless of how tough a loss can be. Nye is also looking to leave a personal imprint on the history of Oberlin football.

“I want to be a quarterback that’s known for winning games here. My number one goal is to win games and bring Oberlin [football] back on the map.”

Blevins has been a part of the women’s soccer leadership committee for the past two years, which consists of six other members. When Head Women’s Soccer Coach Taylor Houck joined the team, Houck turned the captain system to a leadership committee system. The committee’s main goals are to uphold team values, which represent the phrase “OC Love”; lead by example; and provide support for teammates. They also help energize the team, keeping them focused on excelling in conference play and making the North Coast Atlantic Conference tournament.

“It has worked so well for our team,” Blevins said. “I feel like having all the leaders who are in the leadership group with different strengths and personalities really works well, and is able to bond the team in really great ways. I’m so grateful to have the other leaders. With captains, it can be only one or two people [leading], and I think it’s great that we have a large group of leadership.”

Though Blevins is currently injured, she is confident in the team’s abilities this season. She is also thankful for those who have stepped up in her absence and helped to replace the presence of former team leader Camille Franklin, OC ʼ23. 

“Genuinely, I’ve been so impressed by all my teammates so far,” Blevins said. “I think we look really good. This is honestly the best team since I got here… we only lost one person last year and brought on three new players. The transition and playing together this year has been really seamless. The new players fit right into our team, and I’m really, really excited for this season. I am confident [that] with this team we can not only make it to the tournament, but win the whole thing!”

Aside from soccer, Blevins walked onto the lacrosse team her first year and has been part of the team since. People ask her a lot about the similarities and differences between soccer and lacrosse. She claims that the fitness and strategy of both sports have a lot of overlap and the differences mostly come from the personalities from the team, which she is appreciative of. 

“I’m so lucky that I get 40 automatic family members within my teammates, and it’s kind of fun to see how those dynamics play out with the different people on my team,” she said. 

One difficult decision Blevins had to make was to give up her third lacrosse season in order to go abroad to Auckland, New Zealand, where she lived for seven months. Her teammates were supportive and understanding of her decision, which she is extremely grateful for. Blevins would watch all the livestreams of the team’s games, even with the 16-hour time difference.  

While abroad, her university offered unique classes, including a Pacific Studies course that she took along with an introduction to photography course. Blevins was a big fan of New Zealand’s food, such as their cheese and garlic scones, butter chicken pot pie, and coffee — since dairy is the country’s largest export. 

“I have always wanted to go to New Zealand since I was really little,” she said. “Growing up, I went to an overnight summer camp for two weeks every year. I had a lot of Kiwi counselors and they were always so fun and so nice. So ever since I was little, I think I had a good impression as I got older. I really loved New Zealand’s response to COVID-19, their connection with nature, and their relationship with their environment — that really pulled me in. Then, of course, I’m a Lord of the Rings fan.”

The Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed in the North and South Islands of New Zealand. When asked about her favorite character, she immediately responded with Legolas.

While abroad, Blevins had the opportunity to participate in outdoor thrills. This includes riding the Nevis Swing — the world’s largest swing — upside down. The swing hangs over a canyon and has a 300-meter arc. Her spring break included traveling around New Zealand and living out of a car for two and a half weeks with friends. She also traveled to Australia and hit Sydney, Cairns, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast. While in Australia, she had the chance to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef. 

Most importantly, studying abroad changed Blevins’ understanding of the world and different cultures. 

“It can kind of be a cliché to say after studying abroad, but I am convinced that my global perspective of the world has completely shifted,” Blevins said. “It’s one thing to learn about and completely another thing to go and live there and really immerse yourself in somewhere new. To see how other people see the world … is so valuable.”

Living alone for more than half a year can be a big step as a college student. However, Blevins felt that she grew from taking care of herself and being on her own in a new place. 

“I totally feel like I have newfound confidence in myself that I could go and live somewhere new, create my own support system, and build my own schedule,” she said. “Traveling takes a lot of planning. I haven’t been able to do so much self-organized traveling.”

To keep active, Blevins joined Auckland Central United, a club soccer team in the city that plays matches against other local club teams. Since lacrosse isn’t as big in New Zealand, her lacrosse playing was limited only to practices. One of Blevins’ highlights was playing in the interfaculty futsal tournament at her university abroad, in which teams consisted of students from each school division. Her team, the Science Spartans, won the tournament, dominating the finals 3-1. As a soccer fan, Blevins also witnessed two World Cup games, one between New Zealand and Norway, and the other between Vietnam and the United States. 

Being back at Oberlin, Blevins is excited for this upcoming year. 

“I’m looking forward to making the most out of my [fourth-year], really trying to stay present in the moment, and enjoy the company of all the good people I’ve met here,” Blevins said.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

You talked about this in your last article, but coming back to Oberlin, what made you decide to go back into sports journalism, and what was your experience in literary journalism?

I’ve always felt this connection between media and sports, even as a little kid. But I think taking Literary Journalism with Visiting Assistant Professor of Writing and Communication Hal Sundt, OC ’12, was really about getting confidence as a writer. I wrote a baseball-related story for that class. The positive feedback from Hal, as well as just working in that class, inspired me to find another way to write. Naturally, I found out a way I could write about sports and the Review is the perfect place for it. 

Your first solo byline was about the Cleveland Guardians’ name change. Can you talk about the importance and the impact of that piece?

I don’t know where the idea came from, but I was aware of Oberlin City Schools’ name change that happened when I was a little kid. I figured out good people to talk to, and luckily Sundance was huge for driving that piece — talking about his experience as an activist with both Oberlin City Schools and Cleveland’s baseball team. It was super impactful because I’m a huge Cleveland baseball fan from Oberlin who went to the school, so there’s just a lot of connections there. 

Why do you think sports journalism is necessary, especially at Oberlin?

This definitely sounds cliché, but sports are a microcosm of society. It’s a lot more than about the wins and losses, the points on the scoreboard. There’s a lot of social stuff that goes on, and I think covering sports provides a great way to bring up those issues and talk about how we can make change, make things better, not just within the sports themselves but the community that they’re happening in.

At Oberlin, people are definitely not afraid to talk about change, progressivism, and looking for ways to improve and be inclusive of a lot of different things. I think we’ve done a good job as a Sports section during my time here not being afraid to talk about those issues and even having some hard conversations and interviews. 

What does the Review mean to you, and what has it taught you about yourself?

I don’t know what it means to me, but what I can say is I felt like it’s a unique workplace. It’s an incredible group of college students. It’s professional, but it’s also fun. People aren’t taking themselves too seriously, but seriously enough to do some really good journalistic work. I’m not really anticipating finding another workplace like this. I’m always gonna look back on that positively. It also goes without being said, but it’s a huge career jumpstarter, too. I feel like I have a lot of work under my belt now, and it was a great place to get that start. 

The Review gave me a bit of a purpose, being a part of a greater thing. We were all contributing not just to our articles, but, as an editor, a whole section. It showed me that I can really be a part of the team. I’m definitely the type to want to do work very independently, and so I think I really learned how to work as a group.

What’s been your favorite memory so far working here?

There’s a lot of good ones. Even just the last Thursday night of production was super fun. I usually go home early on Thursdays, but I decided to stay longer and just savor some of those last office conversations. That’s the thing that sticks in my mind that happened recently, at least.

Do you have any advice for future sports editors?

Continue to be unafraid to tackle tough issues. I think when people start to question, “Why do we have a Sports section? Who cares about this?” keep talking about social issues and go in those directions and do digging to find stories that are about greater issues than just the games themselves.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What were the sports that you played at Oberlin and what were some of your achievements?

I played football my first year, and then I actually transferred to Ohio University for my second year. I played baseball for the remaining three years at Oberlin. I had the home run record at that time. I think I might have had the most runs batted in as well. And this was only in three years too. I was also inducted into the Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame as the first annual recipient of the Moses Fleetwood Walker Memorial Award. He was an Oberlin graduate back in the 1880s. He was a barehanded catcher for baseball, and was the first Black Major League baseball player before what we know it as. Academically, I was one of those students that kind of struggled to come up with a major because it was hard for me to find that passion back in those days. I ended up graduating as an African American Studies major.

You started working for Oberlin a couple months after you graduated. Can you take me through the jobs you’ve had and what led you to the MRC?
When I first started working at Oberlin, I was with the Up- ward Bound program. Upward Bound was what’s called a TRIO program. These are programs that are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, and Oberlin was our fiscal agent. I was working for Oberlin, but I was also working at some of the area high schools, working with low-income and first-generation students and students with disabilities and getting them ready for college. I did that for six years. We lost our funding, and then I started working soon after that with Student Academic Services, which is now the Center for Student Success. I’ve been here for 25 years.

Almost exactly a year ago, I transitioned over from the Center for Student Success to the MRC. We were going through a change. Vice President and Dean of Students Karen Goff had this vision of re-imagining the program. There was a big need in the MRC at the time because we really didn’t have any full-time staff members a year ago. It seemed like a good fit for me and was more of an organic transition.

I’m the assistant dean for inclusion and belonging. I try to promote certain dialogue on campus. I’m working with Black and Latino male-identifying and gender-expansive students. I’m also working with Obies for Undocumented Inclusion and providing support for them as well.

What does your work look like with student-athletes?

I’m the advisor for Black Student Athlete Group. I’m an academic advisor, but I also do holistic advising. Some of the athletes that I advise academically include everyone from volleyball players to football players, baseball, softball, and the track teams. These are all students that I’ve been working with this year, both unofficially and officially. We coordinated a program in the fall. It was a dialogue program where we were trying to bridge some of the gaps between the football team and non-athletes on campus just so they can get a chance to get to know each other and understand each other a little more. I was a football player, and, you know, we have a tendency in athletics to silo ourselves — football players hang out with other football players. But there’s not a lot of dialogue outside of that. I think people realize we have more in common than we thought. Football players aren’t just these jocks on campus, they’re real people.

The Athletics department is trying to do a little more with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work. They hired a consulting team called Threefold a couple months ago. I attended a group meeting with athletics to talk about the state of athletics here at Oberlin. That’s going to be an ongoing thing that we’re going to be doing more collaboratively together. I also work with coaches in recruitment. Sometimes I’ll get a call from a coach saying, “Hey, I have a recruit coming in. I’d like them to talk to you to find out more about resources on campus.”

Why do you think the relationship between the DEI work that you do and athletics is so important?

It’s just something I have a passion for. I’m passionate about working with student-athletes because I’ve been there. I acknowledge that there are obstacles that student-athletes have to overcome sometimes. It could be time management, dynamics. Athletes are viewed a little differently than other students on campus. I think the work that we do, the support that we provide, is very much needed because sometimes people just need a platform. They just need some- one to talk to. They just need a resource.

What has been the most rewarding experience for you working in the MRC?

We have a great group of people that I’m working with. I’m really fortunate to be working in an office that’s supportive of each other. We have our disagreements sometimes, but it’s an environment that I really enjoy working in. If you would’ve asked me when I was in college if this is the type of work that I would want to do, I would’ve had no idea. I didn’t really have a good focus or an idea of what I wanted to do after graduating. I kind of stumbled on this, to be honest. But I found that I really have a passion for working directly with students, working with a good staff here on campus, working toward goals and a mission that we all agree with.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You’ve published several works about race, gender and sport. How did you first become interested in the intersectionality of those topics?

Like a lot of sociologists — and maybe researchers in general — many of my academic interests are rooted in personal experience. Being an athlete most of my life, especially being a Black, biracial woman in sports, shaped my interest in learning more about how our positionalities affect our athletic and fitness experiences and our perceptions of our own bodies. When I was in graduate school, I had an identity crisis of sorts; I had always been active and involved in sports and was always training for something, but suddenly I wasn’t. I started running and after a while I loved it. I did several 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons. The sociologist in me could not help but notice how white and homogenous recreational running tends to be. It is also expensive to participate in these events, buy the gear, and embed yourself in “running culture.” Studying Black middle- class women in recreational running ended up being the focus of my dissertation.

Members of the Oberlin College community are known for being unafraid to talk about social issues — how did the school’s culture influence your work?

Oberlin’s progressive history, and being in a community that encouraged exploring new ideas, speaking up, and challenging authority, are definitely factors that shape my work and how I approach it. Being a Sociology major at Oberlin really helped me hone my critical thinking skills and opened my eyes to issues of social inequality that I wasn’t fully aware of before coming to college. Now that I am a sociologist, I engage in sociological storytelling — methods like life story interviewing and autoethnography — which are definitely grounded in my desire to center marginalized voices and go against the grain with how I approach better understanding society. I think my inclination to question the status quo and push the boundaries of what it means to engage in scholarship is very Obie.

How did your experience as a basketball player at Oberlin influence your areas of study?

Playing basketball at Oberlin was one of the most meaningful, life-changing experiences I have had to date. The central role of athletics during these formative years will make sports and physical activity a part of my life forever. I love that I have been able to make thinking, writing, and talking about athletics, empowerment, and camaraderie among Black women a part of my job.

What made you want to come back to Oberlin as a faculty member?

When I started graduate school more than a decade ago, I told my mentor that working at Oberlin was my dream job. Some people told me not to share that goal with others, because many academics think we should only strive to work at large research universities. I never really had that desire. I wanted to work in a close-knit community, spend time getting to know students in smaller classes, and engage in mentorship. When there was an opportunity to come back to work at Oberlin and I was offered the job, I was excited. I never thought I would be in my undergraduate academic advisor’s former office, doing my best to make an impact on students’ lives as much as he did. It is a comfortable and familiar environment for me. It is also closer to our families than when we lived in Texas, so it is nice that our kids can grow up within driving distance of their grandparents and other extended family and friends. Hopefully when they get older, we can take them to enjoy events on campus like my partner and I did as students.

In what ways have you stayed connected to Oberlin’s athletic community?

I have stayed pretty connected since I graduated from Oberlin. For a while, my teammates and I made a point of coming back for our alumni games every year, but that fell off as we scattered across the country and started having kids and achy backs. I have served on the board for the Heisman Club and now am a member of the Faculty Athletics Committee. I also enjoyed doing some Zoom conversations with the Black Student- Athlete Group during the pandemic before I became a faculty member. I try to make it to a few women’s basketball games per year, and hopefully I’ll have more time in the future to go see more of my students compete on their respective teams.

What impact do you hope to make with your work going forward in Oberlin’s Sociology department?

I hope I can keep teaching material that resonates with students and gets them thinking about topics in new ways. I also like to teach material that makes students walk away not only feeling like they better understand the inner workings of society, but like they also see themselves and their biographies with more clarity. Making learning accessible is really important to me. I did not see many teachers or instructors that looked like me coming through school and higher education, so I also hope I can show other women of color on campus that they can be professors —and whatever else they want — too. We belong and are needed in these spaces.

What are some areas within sports specifically where you think people could do better to address social issues?

I hope conversations will continue about gender identity in sport, so we can find better ways to make competition and fitness inclusive and empowering spaces for people with marginalized gender identities. Using an intersectional perspective in these conversations is really important, so we ensure that we are centering the voices of student-athletes who may identify as trans or non-binary but also identify with a marginalized racial group, have invisible illnesses or disabilities, or are from a disadvantaged economic background.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Walk me through the process of stealing a base. When do you decide it’s the right time to steal?

Basically, we have signs, and our coach gives us a sign to steal. The way that it works in softball is that when you’re on a base and you get the sign to steal — the pitcher doing her motion, which is when she picks up her back foot — is when you leave that base to steal.

How does your ability as a baserunner affect how you look at softball when fielding?

Whenever you get a ball in the field, you try to think about what the runners are doing and how they’re going to be running. Then you can think about where you want to throw the ball. You can also think about your next play after you get the ball, just anticipating what they are doing.

What’s your favorite memory of stealing a base this season?

I would say there’s two. One of them would be when I stole third base, and then our coach was like, “You just broke the record.” That was pretty cool. And then the other one was a moment in our game against Capital University where we were actually down by one run in the last inning, and I had gotten on base. We had two outs and I had gotten on base, and the catcher bobbled the ball. So I took off to go to second after she bobbled it and I almost got out, but I ran into the shortstop really hard, so she didn’t get me out and the ball got away from her. Then I was able to get a hit in because of that. If I had gotten out there, then we wouldn’t have won the game and had that walk off.

Has base-stealing always been an asset of your game, or did the Oberlin coaches help make it a strength of yours?

It’s definitely not been an asset of my game in the past. Our coach this year, Coach Julie Pratt, is super aggressive. That’s one of the main aspects of the game she focuses on — being really aggressive with stealing bases. Nine out of ten times, if you get on, she’s gonna send you. That’s definitely not been something in the past where I have been like, “Oh, I have so many stolen bases.” That’s been implemented this year because of our coach.

You’ve already set the record of stolen bases as a first-year with eight games left in the season. What are your personal goals, both at bat and on the bases, for the rest of the season? Do you think you can best your record in the next three years?

I definitely think that’s a good challenge to set, because I’ll be growing as a player throughout the next three years, so hopefully I can try to beat my record. I would say that for the rest of the season, my goal as a hitter is to stay consistent. One of the goals I always have is to try to go .500 each game. Normally when I bat in the lineup, I get up four times a game, so usually I’ll try to get a hit two out of those four times. I think this program is going in the right direction. We’ve obviously had a little bit of a rough past few seasons, in terms of our record and stuff like that, but our new coach, she knows so much about the game, and I think she’s really changing this program for the better.