Ode to the Graduates

May and June mean college graduations, and if you’ve seen the NCAA commercials, you know most of those athletes won’t end up playing professionally.

Across the US, between 70,000 and 80,000 college student-athletes are expected to graduate this year, and most of them will be far away from the lights and glitz of the NFL or NBA drafts. These are athletes such as Camylin E. R. Blake from Columbia University, the track and field sprinter and hurdler who is co-captain of her women's track team. As a Junior Blake finished 2nd in the 60-meter hurdles at the DYC tri-meet, and as a First-Year took 3rd place in the same event at the TCNJ Lions Invitational. Her best outing as a Sophomore was 4th place in the 100-meter hurdles at the Ivy Heps Outdoor Championship.

Exceptional off the track as well, Camylin majored in both Biology and Psychology, and was just awarded the James J. Valentini Prize upon her graduation from Columbia, given to the student who best demonstrates the qualities of Beginner’s Mind through their “true curiosity and desire to learn from different perspectives”. A couple of years ago Blake also launched her mentorship program and passion project, Think Unlimited, a recruitment access clinic for prospective student-athletes; her goal is to provide a support system and pass her knowledge on to the next generation.

For every game we watch and every box score we skim, there are hundreds of stories like Camylin’s happening quietly in the background – athletes who show up, put in the work, and don’t go pro, but nevertheless grow into people who carry those lessons far beyond the track. This spring, as they trade uniforms for new beginnings, we honor the many student‑athletes whose impact will echo far beyond the stadium, the fieldhouse, the diamond, the arena, or the swimming pool.