Kelley Zwart '08 Updates us on Life in Manhattan

This week we heard from 2008 Generals' Lacrosse Alum Kelley Zwart (Lexington VA/ Rockbridge County High School). Kelley is living and working in Manhattan and loving every minute of it:

1)Where are you living and what have you been doing since graduating from W&L in 2008?
Kelley: I live in New York City with three other W&L ’08 roommates. Since graduating I’ve been working in advertising at McCann Erickson NY. I work in account management in the pharmaceutical and healthcare division of McCann.

2) What made you decide to take this job and to move to NYC?
Kelley: I’ve been intrigued by advertising since I was little. I used to tear print ads that I liked out of magazines and cover my bedroom walls with them! But it wasn’t until after taking Professor Macdonald’s Art in Business class my freshman year at W&L that I was convinced I wanted to pursue a career in advertising. I first visited McCann during my Junior year on the Advertising Trip to NYC that Professor Macdonald organizes every year and really liked it. So much so, in fact, that I got an internship there the summer before my Senior year and had a great experience. After graduation I headed to New York to see if I could land a job at McCann and I did! I really enjoy working in advertising because it is a great blend of business and art. I was a Business Administration major at W&L but took studio art classes every chance I got because I love art too. Advertising allows me to combine both my business skills and my creative side, so it’s a great fit for me!

3)How do you keep yourself busy outside of the office?
Kelley: My favorite thing to do when I’m not at the office is run. After sitting behind a desk all day, my body is begging for exercise! I also really, really missed having any sort of athletic competition in my life, so I’ve started running road races. I love it! I joined the New York Road Runners, the big running organization in the city, and I occasionally run with one of the local running clubs up here, the Central Park Track Club. It’s great to have a group of people to run with because I really miss being on a team! Right now I’m training to run my first half marathon race in Richmond, VA in November.

4) What is your favorite part about living in Manhattan?
Kelley: I absolutely love Central Park! It’s by far my favorite place in Manhattan. Our apartment is only 5 blocks away from the park, so it’s really easy to head there for a run or walk or even an afternoon laying in the sun on one of the many lawns. After growing up in Lexington with the Rockbridge countryside all around, I really need a good dose of nature whenever I can get it! There are so many roads and trails to run and explore in Central Park – I never get bored there. This summer there were lots of fireflies during my runs at night, and once I even saw a raccoon! Felt almost like home, haha.
5)Are you in touch with other former Generals?
Kelley: Of course! I especially love hearing from Henson about her adventures in Africa! When I’m really lucky I get to hang with the Generals Lax Alums up here in the city. One of the highlights of the spring was getting together with a bunch of former Generals for the 2009 ODAC Lacrosse Championships! It’s not often that you can get alums from so many years together all in one place. It was really great to see everyone, put on our old pennies and cheer for the Generals! I really hope we can do it again next year. And I miss all the ’08 Alums!
6)What are your favorite memories from W&L?
Kelley: Hmm, well I could probably write a book about that!! If I had to narrow it down, though, I’d have to say beating Middlebury our senior year is way up there at the top! The energy going through the team during that game was unreal. It was magical! That game was amazing and I’ll never forget it.

7)If you could go back and do it all again, is there anything that you would change?
Kelley: I truly loved my entire experience at W&L. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about how great it was! But if there is one regret I have it’s that I didn’t study abroad during my four years at W&L. At the time it seemed like there wasn’t a right time for me to leave for a semester, but in hindsight I realize that I should have gone anyway! My friends that went abroad had the most amazing and fulfilling experiences and now have memories that will last a lifetime. I feel like I missed out on that. I can always travel and visit places, but it’s not the same as studying there and forming special bonds with other students who are abroad. So my advice to current W&L students is to just make it work and go!
8)What is one thing that you know now that you wish you knew when you were still in college?
Kelley: Well, you know how stressed out you get during school about papers and exams and class? Don’t stress! Some days I would give anything now to have to take a test or write a paper and then go to a class or two instead of sitting behind a desk ALL DAY! Looking back, class wasn’t that bad, having to do schoolwork wasn’t that bad… I wish I hadn’t stressed so much and had relaxed and had fun a little bit more!

9)Anything else that you want to share with fellow Generals Laxers and blog readers?
Kelley: Every day truly is a great day to be a General! Current Laxers: whether you’re winning a game or running sprints in the freezing cold, love every minute of it! Don’t take for granted the four years you have to be a college athlete, and better yet, a W&L General. Also, I hope to see you all on the field in October! GO ALUMS!!

Generals Lax Players Volunteer at the W&L Girls Sports Clinic

Yesterday, Sunday September 20th, members of the Generals Women's Lacrosse team spent the afternoon volunteering for the W&L Girls Sports Clinic. The clinic was put on collectively by the W&L Women's Swimming, Women's Track/Cross Country, Women's Basketball and Women's Lacrosse teams in an effort to help girls in Rockbridge County understand the enjoyment in being active and the value of being fit. The clinic ran from 2pm-5pm yesterday afternoon and began with lacrosse and running. Half of the girls worked with our team learning lacrosse while the other half worked with Women's Track/Cross Country in the running workshop; after ample amount of time in each the groups switched . For the second half of the afternoon, the girls rotated between swimming and basketball workshops.

We caught up with Women's Lacrosse Seniors Julia Gotwald (Alexandria, VA/St.Stephens&St.Agnes), Laura Cavanaugh (Pylesville,MD/North Harford HS), Britten Mathews (Richmond, VA/Collegiate) and Meredith Freeman (St. Louis,MO/MICDS) on how they felt the afternoon went and what the team got out of the experience:

Junior Ellie Van Sant (Chevy Chase, MD / Taft School) and Sophomores Maddie McKaig (Annapolis, MD/Annapolis HS) and Alli Shearin (Essex Falls, NJ/West Essex Regional HS) stretch with the girls in warm-ups.

Meredith: In terms of our team bonding I think it was a fun and easy way to spend time together, and I think we have a few inside jokes as a result of that, which is always great. Additionally, I like how we gave a general lesson as a group and then EVERYONE got to be involved on a personal level and nobody was just standing on the sidelines feeling unused

Meredith leads the group in ground ball demonstrations

Julia: All the girls seemed excited to be there and their skills and knowledge of the game improved drastically within just forty five minutes. The team definitely bonded over teaching these young girls and a lot of people's personalities definitely came out this afternoon. I think the team benefited from this clinic as well because it made us think about the basics of lacrosse and the little things about cradling and catching and throwing that we sometimes overlook yet are a staple of the game.

Alli Shearin and Freshman Neely Burch (Gladwyne, PA/Agnes Irwin) work on ground balls

Britten: Today was a chance for our team to work together to teach these campers the fundamentals of the game but more importantly, to hopefully instill the love of the game in some younger laxers around Lexington.

Junior Kate Speare (Wallingford, PA/Strath Haven HS) helps her clinic buddy learn to cradle

Laura: It was great to coach such an enthusiastic group of girls, many of whom were at or around the age I was when I started playing lacrosse. Today was a wonderful opportunity to take a small portion of our day and devote it to interacting with members of the community. Having our team there working together was fantastic because all of the girls could get one-on-one instruction with their skills. We saw vast improvements as the clinic progressed and I hope that some of the girls will pursue the sport that I have grown to love over the past 13 years.

Introducing our New Assistant Coach, Megan Moore

Hi! I'd like to use this post to introduce myself to all of our blog readers - I'm Megan, the new Generals' Women's Lacrosse Assistant. I'm happy to be in Lexington and think that this upcoming year will prove to be a great one for our program. Fall season is patiently awaiting and I'm excited to work with the talented group that makes up W&L's Women's Lacrosse team.

I graduated from Gettysburg College in May of 2008 where I studied English and Writing and played four years of lacrosse for the Bullets. I had a tremendous playing experience at Gettysburg and hope to be a part of what makes Division III lacrosse so enjoyable for our players, parents and fans at W&L. Prior to accepting the position here I served as an assistant at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. The weather in Virginia is much more sympathetic during February's pre-season practices than the weather in Pennsylvania! (or at least, that's what I've been told...).

I'm from a small town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland called Chestertown. I've found many similarities between Chestertown and Lexington and am quickly starting to feel at home down here in the South. I'm looking forward to meeting all of you in the upcoming year once our season gets underway. Please feel free to email me anytime at moorem@wlu.edu. I hope to see many of you at our fall scrimmages this October!

Laura Cavanaugh's Summer Interning with Aflac in Baltimore, MD

This summer Senior Defender Laura Cavanaugh (North Harford HS/Pylesville, MD) spent some valuable time as a marketing intern in the D.C. Area. Laura gave us some good insight into what she learned there and a brief glimpse of her summer outside of work as well.

1) What are you doing this summer and what made you decide to take this position?
Laura: I am doing an internship with Aflac (yes, the duck hehe) in Marriotsville, MD. The internship is partly marketing-oriented, a field that I am very interested in pursuing after college. I am a business major and thought that an internship this summer would be the best way to alleviate some of the anxiety of taking the plunge into the real world following graduation in June.

2) When did you begin your job and how long were you working this summer?
Laura: My job began in the beginning of June and I worked until mid-August.

3) Where did you live?
Laura: I lived at home (probably for the last time ever!)

4) What did your normal day look like?
Laura: My morning normally started in the office, making calls and doing paperwork. Then, a fellow intern and I drove around the Maryland/DC area and either marketed to new business owners or enrolled employees in insurance plans.

5) What was the best part of your job?
Laura: The best part of my job so far was meeting so many interesting people. I met individuals from a variety of vocations- from bus drivers, electricians, construction workers to CEOs and presidents of companies!

6) What was the most challenging part of your job?
Laura: The most challenging part of my job was getting over the fear factor of talking to complete strangers about Aflac. It definitely taught me to be more confident and realize that everyone, no matter what their title, is human and are not unwilling to help someone out.

7) Anything else you'd like to share with your teammates or other blog readers?Laura: Here's a picture of a neat (but scary!) little plane I took to Nantucket last weekend.