This story initially appeared on Behind the Whistle, the official blog of the IWLCA, and is being republished with permission from the organization. Ashleigh Gundy is a defender and midfielder at Cornell University.

The three bricks that my teammates and I touch walking in and out of our locker room say “Hard Work,” “Positive Attitude” and “Team First,” and instill a mindset in which race has no basis. Playing lacrosse in college has taught me several life lessons that I would not have fully understood my freshman year. I have learned about the importance of putting my team first, as well as how to adapt to different situations.

Being a member of the Cornell women’s lacrosse team for four years, I have encountered numerous opportunities, but most importantly, I have gained a new perspective on the team dynamic. As I embark on the professional realm of my life, Cornell lacrosse has prepared me for the next part of my journey. I am excited about my future, thankful for my Cornell lacrosse family, as well as the opportunity to bring attention to the abundance of diverse talent within this sport.  

I grew up in a suburb outside of Philadelphia, where I attended private school since pre-k. I found myself living, learning and playing lacrosse in a predominantly white space. While I learned how to navigate these white spaces, I never forgot that I was a Black woman. I played lacrosse for two club teams where there were very few players who looked like me. After attending private school and being recruited to Cornell, I was not one of a few. I became the only person of color. This experience has been eye-opening, but most importantly full of life lessons, discomfort, new perspectives and growth.

On Tuesday, November 2, 2021, I had the privilege of speaking with Tina Sloan Green, who was the head lacrosse coach of the Temple Owls from 1975-92. She congratulated me for being named the inaugural recipient of the Tina Sloan Green Award and spoke to me about the importance of leadership, courage and bravery on and off the field. Tina Sloan Green embodied strength, resilience, determination and a desire to lead her team to be the best. While discussing her achievements as the first Black head coach in the history of women’s intercollegiate lacrosse, she expressed her joy but also stressed togetherness.

In leading Temple to three national championships, she explained the importance of teamwork and unity, and repeatedly said, “We’re all in this together.” That really resonated with me and my experiences playing lacrosse from middle school until now because as much as it is about winning, it is more about winning as a cohesive unit and putting differences aside. I was elated when I received the news that I would travel to Dallas, Texas, to receive this prestigious award and speak at the IWLCA Hall of Fame and Honors Banquet to college coaches, Hall of Fame honorees and guests. I was grateful for the opportunity to be part of Tina Sloan Green’s legacy. I was even more humbled to sit beside my parents and other college coaches while my head coach, Jenny Graap, stood at the podium and spoke about me as a leader. Coach Graap emphasized my courage in educating my teammates, willingness to have uncomfortable conversations, as well as my involvement in organizations whose goal is to improve equity and inclusion.

Since high school, I have always enjoyed being involved in extracurricular activities. At Cornell, I am one of the social justice committee leaders for women’s lacrosse, the chairwoman of the Black Student Athletic Committee, an active member of Women of Cornell in Athletics (WOCA), and during my junior year, I joined BlackGen Capital, Cornell’s first underrepresented minority investment fund. Throughout my experiences in these different organizations, I have worked to improve equity and inclusion for underrepresented minorities.

Last summer, as a passion project, I created a documentary called, “Where Do We Go From Here?” This documentary is meant to provoke an ongoing conversation about race in the United States, specifically addressing the Civil Rights Movement, its impact and advancement. I interviewed Harvard Professor Khalil Muhammad, who was also a key narrator in Ava Duvernay’s documentary “13th” on Netflix. Professor Muhammad explored the intersection of race and criminal justice in modern U.S. history. He discussed the killings of many innocent Black people, including George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor as “tipping points” due to people having pushed the Black Lives Matter movement capacity to the edge.

What did I take away from this passion project? I learned that racism in all forms is not just a Black and white issue. Racism is a humanity issue. Everyone has a story to tell. What is most important is that we come out of our comfort zones, actively listen to these stories and educate ourselves. The people that really need to educate themselves about their ignorance are not the ones listening. People talk about “selective hearing,” but there is also “selective bias.”

Aside from lacrosse, my other biggest passion is personal fitness. My love for fitness led me to create a fitness page on Instagram and eventually start personal training. At Cornell, I realized that a big part of being on the lacrosse team was showing mental and physical strength on and off the field. In the weight room, I had the honor of being pushed to perform my best by our strength and conditioning coach Erika Rogan. She always believed that I could do and achieve more with regards to strength training. This allowed me to make the Wall of Honor from freshman through senior year. Everyone needs someone to advocate for them and provide mentorship. This is most important for minorities in a predominantly white space. In my documentary, a Georgetown University student said, “It’s not unusual for Black people to work two times, three times, five times, 10 times, 100 times as hard to succeed in a space that was not meant for them.”

Being the only person of color on a sports team is all about realizing the significance of the term cultural fit. I started playing lacrosse in the second grade, and I did not know much about the history or politics of the sport. My mother exposed me to the sport of lacrosse as well as its Native American roots. As a college senior reflecting on my lacrosse experience, I learned to embrace the needs of the team and my coaches rather than how I perceived my role.

In lacrosse and many other sports, filling the role your coach needs can be a challenge. However, it can be more challenging for players of color because they are often stereotyped. Before I was recruited to play lacrosse at Cornell University, I played midfield and more offense than defense. I was unfamiliar with only playing defense. When I arrived at Cornell, I had to adapt to a new role that required me to spend extra time working on my defensive skills. While I experienced discomfort and adversity, over time I started to find comfort in the challenges that I was facing. In other words, I learned how to find comfort within discomfort. This did not necessarily make my experience easier, but it made me stronger and more knowledgeable when it came to focusing on the most important part of lacrosse, the game. 

Frustration is the word that comes to mind when I realized that my comfort zone as a midfield player was being changed. I wondered why my coach felt that defense was the best place for me, and why other teammates had the opportunity to take the draw and make mistakes that did not confine them to one position. My parents, who are my strongest support system, suggested that I focus on the bigger picture. The bigger picture was my team and winning games, not my individual desires or comfort zone. I wanted to take the draw and have the support of playing more midfield, but my team needed me to focus on playing defense. More specifically, my coaches needed me to approach the thought of a new position with an open mind and a positive attitude. 

These are my takeaways from the experience that are applicable to life:

• Focus on the positives and the bigger picture

• Strive to find comfort within discomfort

• It is not about the individual; it is about the betterment of the team

• Surround yourself with the right people and mentors

• Do everything with a purpose 

• Be your authentic self no matter what environment you are in

• Do not be afraid to be the only person of color in a white space

• Continue to educate yourself