When Erin Engelhardt, one of the recipients of the 2014 Mark Escandon University Sports Service Award, first came to Seattle in the summer of 2004 after completing graduate school at Syracuse University, she never expected that the Emerald City would become her home.
“My first job was as a residence hall director at Seattle U. Originally, I had anticipated moving to Seattle for a couple years and then heading back east. Not necessarily home, but hopefully within driving distance. But then I really fell in love with this place. Not just Seattle but really Seattle U.”
After her anticipated two years of work at Seattle U, Engelhardt made a move but not nearly as far as the one she had expected. She moved to the athletics department, becoming the assistant athletics director for academic support and serving for a period of time as the Senior Woman Administrator (SWA).
She had always envisioned herself working in education and it wasn’t until she did a graduate assistantship at Syracuse that she realized the type of role she ultimately took was possible.
“I was trying to decide whether I should go into counseling at a high school level or student development in a higher education setting. Mostly because I didn’t realize it was a career you could do in athletics and academics until I worked at the Stevenson Educational Center within the athletics department at Syracuse.”
A student-athlete herself, captain of the lacrosse team at LeMoyne College, she recognized the benefit of this type of role and this interested her even more in helping student-athletes exceed their potential.
“At LeMoyne, we didn’t have anyone except the Faculty Athletic Representative who helped us maybe with registration when we were on the road. I was able to balance it, but I knew that having someone you could talk to about anything and who understood the demands of both would’ve really been helpful for me. What I love about my job is you can really work with all kinds of students in many different ways throughout their collegiate careers.”
Ten years into her Seattle U career, it’s “almost unbelievable,” she remarks, astounded. “I feel like that’s a long time, but yet it’s gone very quickly. I feel like this is the kind of place where being here for that long is really important. It’s all about relationships at Seattle U and you can’t just build them all in one or two or three years, so I’m constantly still meeting new people and building those relationships.”
In how much her job relies on relationships with upper campus, “it really helps you with your job just to be able to pick up the phone and call people and not have to explain yourself. I think it’s about building trust and as athletics had grown, it has been important that there’s been some consistency here.”
Engelhardt is seeing that consistency carry over into an improved relationship with young alumni.
“Our young alums are now really coming back more than we used to see. When I first started, I didn’t really know any of the young alums. It’s really fun to see people wanting to come back to games and we hear a lot more from them.”
One of the biggest changes she has overseen and been a part of was the athletics department’s transition from NCAA Division II back to Division I.
“Everything has changed in great ways. We’ve changed and we’ve grown and there have been growing pains, but I think every year our student-athlete experience gets better and I think we’ve always stepped it up a notch. I don’t think there’s ever a point where we feel comfortable, so there’s always growth and need for that growth. It’s constantly changing and it’s a constant challenge and you have to be more creative and that’s fun.”
Some things, the most important things, however, have remained the same.
“Our student-athletes are still phenomenal and we are still recruiting great students who want to be here. I love overhearing recruiting visits with coaches where they tell them ‘At Seattle U, we are mission driven. You will serve in the community, you will be involved in other areas, you will still be an incredible Division I student-athlete’. None of that has changed. In fact, I think the move to DI has gotten us students we wouldn’t have been able to get before. There are great student-athletes at the Division II level, but it’s been fun to see that growth and see really spectacular students come to Seattle U because that’s absolutely the level of play they want to be at.”
One large commitment of both the University and the athletics department is giving back to the community. SU student-athletes logged over 2,400 community service hours last year, no small feat while also winning conference championships, advancing to NCAA competition, and performing at a high level in the classroom.
“There’s no one who’s going to come into Seattle U and leave without having that ‘outside of the classroom’ experience in our community. If they’re not getting it in the classroom, they’re going to get it through our athletics experience because we do a lot of service as well. Whether it’s at the Rotary Boys and Girls Club or with Youth Initiative, it’s a really important part of what we do.”
Aiding in the process of student-athletes reaching and exceeding their potential is the best part of the job, Engelhardt notes.
“I don’t know why you would do the job without that. We just had parent orientation and we warn them that every student is going to have a point where they feel like they’ve failed. They stumble, they make mistakes, and that’s the only way you grow. It’s so fun and rewarding to see a student say ‘My goal is ____’ and to reach it. Or the students who say ‘I have no idea what I’m going to do’ and by a year later come back and say ‘Let me tell you about my job that I’m thriving in and I never thought I’d be good in sales but I’m competitive, I’m confident, and I can communicate well’. Those are the skills that, likely, you acquired in athletics. No matter what your degree is in, those are probably going to help you in the work force. So that’s a lot of fun for me.”
She continues, “If you work with students, you’re going to have that experience of watching them grow, but I think the best part about my job is to be able to do that in different aspects of their lives. I get to do the high five coming off the field and the high five when you get an A on a paper. Merging that and having that balance in all aspects of a student-athlete’s life, I think, is really critical and way more fun for me.”
One particular student-athlete from her first year on the job sticks out in her mind.
“There was a student-athlete who got a D in Math 110 and wanted to be a business major. We usually don’t even start students in Math 110 as a business major, we prefer they start in pre-calculus. It would’ve been so easy for people to say, ‘We’ll shuffle you to arts & sciences or somewhere else’. But that student never gave up, graduated with that business degree, and is now working higher up at a bank and comes back to visit. He’s a prime example of someone who if you put your mind to it, you can absolutely do it.”
“Sometimes you have a late major changer, someone going from a finance degree to a nursing degree halfway through and you’re like ‘Ah! No!’”, she says grabbing her head in mock frustration. “But then they do it and it was the right thing to do and yes we had to do waivers and this, that, and whatever. But for me I think it’s just that ‘A-ha’ moment that every student has and you can’t predict when it’s going to happen. You want it to happen sooner rather than later, but it also happens at what seems like the right time for that person.”
The 2014 spring quarter was one of the best academically for Seattle U student-athletes in recent memory as over 75 percent posted at least a 3.0 GPA and 27 student-athletes posted a perfect 4.0 GPA. Further, 87 received Dean’s List recognition for having a GPA between 3.5 and 3.899 and 58 made the President’s List for a GPA of 3.9 or above.
“Everyone is to be credited for having such a great quarter. Our strongest teams academically did stronger than ever; teams who have maybe struggled on paper did better than ever. It doesn’t mean my life is easier when that happens, but it’s something to really be proud of and I’m glad our student-athletes can see that and raise the bar. It’s important for us, as a culture, to set that as an expectation and it helps our faculty know that our student-athletes have done really well.”
Outside of her “day job”, so to speak, Engelhardt also is involved with several other student organizations including the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at Seattle U.
“I love that when we compare ourselves to other SAAC’s, everyone is always impressed with our attendance and the student-athletes really enjoy themselves. Even when you think ‘Oh my gosh, these are the busiest students, and they’re trying to plan an event and how are they going to do this?’ it always comes together because I kind of think our student-athletes are not willing to fail. We have a blast and our Monday night meetings are a highlight of my job.”
With joining the Western Athletic Conference came the opportunity to be involved with WAC SAAC which is fun because “you can do some competitive and collaborative things, bouncing off ideas of what other people do. It was tougher when we were independent, so that’s been a real blast.”
As a new year dawns, Engelhardt looks forward to continuing to make an impact in the lives of student-athletes, faculty, and staff that she had the pleasure of working with on a daily basis. And from those who have the opportunity to work with her, the feelings are mutual.