Tag: Tribe Athletics

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Association of 1775 Undergraduate Experience

Challenge the Status Quo

By Christian Chisolm ’18, M.B.A. ’24

Howdy! Christian here, and I graduated from William & Mary in 2018. I commissioned into the Army as an armor officer from the W&M Army ROTC. I am a current MBA candidate at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business, and I am officially an old cranky veteran. Boy, how time flies! With Veterans Day right around the corner, I have done a bit of reflection on my time in military service and how William & Mary prepared me for it.

As many of you know, four years at William & Mary can be quite a humbling experience. W&M houses some of the brightest individuals on the planet who will challenge your mind daily. Former military science faculty members Lt. Col. James Kimbrough, Lt. Col. Dustin Menhart and Maj. William Chesher were the epitome of military and academic achievement. Every day, these gentlemen pushed us cadets to excel in all aspects of their military and academic performances. Their lofty standards for excellence created some of the best officers I have ever seen and had the pleasure to serve beside. William & Mary, despite the size of the program at the time, had a reputation in the Army to uphold: physically tough and mentally sharp officers who would leave an immediate impact on whatever team they served on.

Although I am no longer in the Army, I loved my job. To quote the movie “Fury” starring Brad Pitt, serving as an armor officer was “the best Job I ever had!” Ever since I was a kid, I loved tanks. When I was a child, I used to build Lego tank sets and wear tank slippers everywhere I went. Although I have always had a fascination with tanks, I never imagined myself ever serving in the U.S. Army as a tanker. I should have known I would end up in the Army, though, as my family has always joked that “the Army is the family business!” Many of my family members have served, including my role model, my father, Keith Chisolm P ’18.

While in the Army, I had the opportunity to lead one of the first fully inclusive combat units with women. My proudest achievement was incorporating new teammates into roles they previously were denied, while creating more inclusive workspaces for all. On my team of 16, I had four female-identifying soldiers. My team would go on to travel all over the U.S. and Europe together, breaking boundaries and demonstrating the power of diversity. To this day, leading this amazing team is my proudest achievement. I would like to thank William & Mary for offering me the opportunity to share a little bit about my time in the Army and would like to leave a bit of advice. Continue to always challenge the status quo! One thing William & Mary teaches us all is that the world is complex and sometimes flat-out weird: It is our duty to make sense of this craziness and change the world for the better! Roll Tribe!

Follow along with Christian on Instagram and connect with him on LinkedIn.

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Tribe Athletics

Tribe Hoops 2021-22 Season

By Julian Boatner ’14

Before I get into this coming season I want to briefly talk about last season and some of the things we dealt with as a basketball team during Covid stoppages, cancellations, etc. Our team underwent a lot of adversity whether it was team meetings via zoom, games being cancelled, or having to go into quarantine. What many people don’t realize is the toll Covid took on our players mentally. It was extremely important that as a coaching staff, we were checking in on our players to make sure they were okay.  I say all of this as a preface to our current Sophomore class only getting to play 17 games last season (a normal basketball season is around 30 games) and they just recently played their first game in front of fans. When you have a young/inexperienced team growing pains are natural, but it’s going to be our jobs to try and get them to a point where they’re playing their best basketball in March. 

Shifting to this season, we are very excited to have more of a “normal” season and to see what this team can accomplish! This summer we got to work on our team chemistry as well as getting stronger for the season ahead. We added three freshmen to the roster, including Tyler Rice, Julian Lewis, and Langdon Hatton.  Brandon Carroll is also new to the Tribe, a graduate student currently completing his MBA. These guys have spent the summer getting acclimated with their teammates and our staff. 

As you can see from our first couple of games, we’re playing a lot of Freshman and Sophomores this season. I want to highlight three guys that will be ones to watch this year and that we’re excited to see grow this season. Connor Kochera, a sophomore wing from Chicago, IL and the reigning Rookie of the Year in the CAA. We’re hoping he continues to build on his success from last year. Tyler Rice, a freshman from Columbia, SC is another player we’re very excited about and you can see what we’re talking about if you saw anything from his debut game at Wake Forest. He’s going to be a guy that can create offense for his teammates as well as for himself. Ben Wight, a redshirt sophomore from Columbus, OH. Last season he struggled with foul trouble and the overall size of his opposition. Ben has one of the highest motors I’ve ever coached, there isn’t going to be a lot of players who play harder than him. 

I’m so lucky to be back coaching at the school that has done so much for me in my life! Looking forward to passing those experiences on to my current players. I hope to see some of you all at the games this season, and if you are in attendance, please don’t hesitate to say hello! 

Follow along with Julian on Instagram and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Categories
Crim Dell Association Tribe Athletics

Building Identity

By Peter Makey `19

Having grown up near Minneapolis, Minnesota, my journey to William & Mary was far less predictable (and much longer) than my relatively shorter, well-traveled path up to Washington, DC after graduation. As many before and alongside me can articulate, there’s a certain allure to moving to a major market, the center of American politics, and to a place where you’re bound to bump into a fellow William & Mary grad if you just happen to overhear the right conversation.

During my time as a student, the epicenter of my experience was in Kaplan Arena, where I participated as a member of the Men’s gymnastics team. Tribe Athletics – and Men’s Gymnastics specifically – was my entrée into William & Mary, and it remains one of my strongest ties. Where I live in Washington, DC, Metro buses adorned in green and gold dotted the streets during the fall of 2019. In 2020, I became more deeply engaged as a young alum than I could have predicted, as I joined with students, families, staff, and community members in urging Tribe Athletics to find its way back to the mission it anchors on. Now, in 2021, I felt the reach of William & Mary as I cheered on my younger teammates competing at the NCAA Championships at the University of Minnesota, just miles from where I grew up.

If athletics has proven itself a special venue for building and sustaining community, so too has my identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. While not officially a part of any LGBTQ+ student group on campus, shortly after graduation I leaned into my identity as another way to meet and engage with other alum I could relate to. Having been on campus during William & Mary’s inaugural Lavender Graduation ceremony and taking part in its second, I knew there was an under-told history of LGBTQ+ student life that was resurging in front of me. Through the Alumni Association, I have been able to support the newly renamed Crim Dell Association, birthed out of GALA, the College’s LGBTQ+ affinity group, which celebrated its 35th anniversary at William & Mary this year. I was also pleased to attend William & Mary’s first formally partnered Pride event in DC, where I’ve been able to connect with alum from years, sometimes decades past, who knew an entirely different experience than the inclusive one I so appreciated.

In each of these ways and more, the College’s active engagement with DC alumni has provided an enriching layer of opportunities, personal, professional, and social. From networking events at alum-founded solar energy startups, to sailing excursions on the Potomac, to William & Mary Night at National’s Park and W&M at D.C. United, the ways in which the William & Mary Washington Center and DC Alumni Board have made intentional efforts to engage students and young alumni sustains connection and community in a remarkable way. In the virtual environment too, the breadth of William & Mary’s alumni network is clear. As Zoom became my new normal, I found myself able to stay connected as I virtually celebrated Pride, watched gymnastics competitions, commemorated Charter Day, and continued to pursue research with the support of professors who I admired during undergrad.

Although I’ve been able to forge strong connections that span both time and distance in the virtual environment, I’m reminded now about the importance of place. With October’s Homecoming and Commencement celebrations around the corner, I’m eager to make the familiar trek down to Williamsburg once again, to return to the sights and people that have made W&M home.

Until then, here’s to hoping you all stay safe and well. Go Tribe!

Follow along with Peter on Instagram and connect with him on LinkedIn.