Nashua – Daniel Webster (DWC) is a college with a focused mission, preparing women and men for professional challenges in the fields of aviation, engineering, computer science and information systems, business management, sport management, and social science; fields not traditionally teeming with women. 

But at DWC, with a female population at 20 percent and growing, you find many amazing young women on campus who not only excel in the academic arena, but on the playing fields and courts, as well.

Sophomore Katie Zahn, of Pelham, N.H., is a double major in business management and marketing, and plays on the college’s soccer, basketball and softball teams. She commutes from her home and works 20 hours a week, opening and closing a clothing store in Salem, N.H.

Sophomore Erin Moseley, of Sterling, Mass., is a double major also, in sport management and marketing, and has already earned many credits as a junior in a single major.  Moseley plays on the volleyball, basketball and softball teams, is active in the Society of Sport Management, is one of two students on the College’s Committee for Athletic Planning, and works 10 hours a week for the College’s Information Systems Technology department at its “Help Desk.”

Senior Tanya Jazwinski, of Carmel, N.Y., is an aviation flight operations (professional pilot) major, as well as a member of the volleyball and softball teams.  Beyond her classroom courses, Tanya has a pilot’s license and 200 hours of flight time under her belt.  As her work-study job, she is co-director of the student ambassadors group in the College’s admissions department.

Sophomore Sarah Shea, of Quincy, Mass., is a sport management major, plays on the soccer and basketball teams, is the director of finance for the College’s chapter of the Society of Sport Management, and works 10 hour a week at her work-study job assisting the athletic department and working in the College’s weight room.

All four women are “doing it all,” — with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.  

According to Corri Hughes, coach of DWC’s women’s basketball and women’s and men’s cross country teams, “these four young women are among the most positive kids on campus and are great examples of the heights women can reach here at DWC.  They excel in the classroom, they excel as athletes, and they excel as ambassadors for their college.” 

“Participating in sports is very empowering for women,” she added.  “In the past, women cheered the men on from the sidelines and our culture thought being aggressive, powerful, and outspoken were not positive female traits.  Participating in sports allows you to do all that.  Now men and women are cheering them.”

Why do these women find room in their crammed academic schedules to meet the demands of practicing and playing on a college sports team?

“I’ve been playing basketball since I was five years old, and volleyball since eighth grade.  Playing and being in competition are big parts of my life,” Erin Moseley said.  “Whenever I was angry or sad or upset, I’d go play.  It’s my relief.  I love it.”

Sarah Shea agrees. “Playing sports is my outlet and stress reliever.  Whenever I’ve had issues, it was something I always could do not matter what was going on.  It has made me the person I am today.”   Sarah has played soccer since age five and basketball from seventh grade through high school.

Katie Zahn, who played soccer, basketball, and softball throughout high school, also sees sports a stress relief, and more.  “Playing sports gives me an inner joy – stepping out on the fresh-cut grass and playing a good game is a genuine rush.  I plan to take advantage of every opportunity I can while I am still in school.”

Although Tanya Jazwinski has played softball for ten years, her reasons are a bit different.  “I enjoy playing on a team, to set goals and to work toward them, where my teammates support me and I support them.  On a small campus that doesn’t have large numbers of women, it is a great way to get to know other students and develop relationships. It keeps me busy and not sitting around – I get bored easily.  And it’s a great way to keep fit.”

All four thrive on their hectic schedules.  “It doesn’t seem like a lot to me.  I like to be constantly active,” Moseley said.  “Last year I had an injury and was on crutches so I only went to class.  I was so bored.”

Participating in sports, according to all the women, has taught them many valuable skills they will use throughout their lives.

Zahn, who lives and works part time in Salem, N.H., and commutes to school, says discipline and time management are skills she learned that will serve her well in the working world. 

“I’ve always been an active person and learned how to manage my time while in high school,” she said.  “After school work, playing sports is my priority.  I am carrying 18 credit hours, including one independent study and one online course (a typical student often carries 15 credits).  I go to class on Tuesdays and Thursday and I’m fortunate to have a job that allows me very flexible hours.

Shea says she has learned that discipline in life is everything.  “I’ve learned how to work with people and how to control my feelings on and off the field.  And you learn perseverance – both sides of winning and losing, because you don’t always win in life.  It has made me a stronger person.”

Learning how to work with people is a skill Moseley gained from sports, especially volleyball.  “It is a sport where everyone needs to be able to work together or the team falls apart,” she said.  

Jazwinski says participating in sports shows you your strengths and weaknesses and how you interact with others.  “I learn that I play more of a supportive and motivational role for the team.  I am not as competitive as I would like to be.”

Moseley says that Jazwinski’s role on the volleyball team is one of the keys to their success.  The team has a 5-3 record through the first eight matches, with a 4-match winning streak, the longest in the college’s history. “Tanya is amazing,” said Moseley.  “She keeps everybody up and is always taking care of us.  One evening she even cooked us dinner in the dorm kitchen.  We call her ‘Mama Tanya.’” 

According to Coach Hughes, “In the working world, you have to work in close proximity with others. Athletics is the perfect place to learn those roles – working on a team and with the coach of the team.  You may not always like all your teammates and the coach, just as you may not always like your co-workers and boss, but you learn how to work with them to get the job done while keeping everyone’s eyes on the goal.”

“These women are wonderful athletes I am grateful they are at DWC and I feel fortunate to have coached all four,” she added.  “They also are learning that everyone isn’t like them – most people are not as intense and don’t want to practice all they time.  You learn how to get the most out of the skills people have without expecting them to be like you.”

But all women, whether they participate in sports or not, can take something away from Kathie Zahn’s motto:  “Shoot for the stars and you will never strike out.  You will see how far you can go.”