On Wednesday, Aug. 23, first-year student-athletes gathered with each athletic team in Darby Gymnasium to learn about how life as both a student and an athlete works at Grinnell. They listened to speeches from Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) members and Director of Athletics Andy Hamilton ’85. After finishing up the formalities of the evening, every athletic team gathered on the gymnasium floor for games, most notably a rock-paper-scissors tournament. The S&B caught up with a handful of first-year, fall sport student-athletes to hear about their summers full of running, weight lifting and carpentry.

Rebecca Villa

Sport: women’s cross country

Hometown: Los Angeles, California

Why Grinnell?: I chose Grinnell because I got a QuestBridge scholarship to come here.

What did you do this summer?: My summer mainly consisted of me running, just trying to get my preseason workouts in.

Tom Henehan

Sport: football

Hometown: La Grange Park, Illinois

Why Grinnell?: The academics here are amazing — and the brotherhood bond on the football team.

What did you do this summer?: We had a workout program, so I was lifting… And conditioning, trying to get into the best shape.

Ali Hickey

Sport: women’s tennis

Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

Why Grinnell?: Probably the community, the academics, the tennis team.

What did you do this summer?: I played a lot of tennis, worked at a tennis camp and mostly prepared for the season.

Jasper Yang

Sport: men’s soccer

Hometown: Stow, Massachusetts

Why Grinnell?: I felt like it’s a good place to spend my college years and get my education.

What did you do this summer?: I worked as a carpenter for this one guy. Basically, I was his apprentice and we did renovations.