After playing in your last college game, the second you walk off the stage you have been performing on for the last four years, you realize your whole life is about to change. Many relationships, including the one you have with yourself, will no longer be the same.

On campus, you had made bonds with people who had helped you to develop your game. Teammates always had your back and were probably even your roommates that you had dinner with every night. Coaches pushed you forward, demanding you to be the greatest player you could possibly be. Athletic trainers kept you healthy and shared life lessons. Academic professors supported your learning, and some may even have written a letter of recommendation for your new resumes.

Where are our student athletes now?

Class of 2018 student and former men’s basketball player, Tim Howell, talks about beginning his new life in Stockton, California.

“After graduating from college I have decided to go into the field of coaching and being a part-time teacher’s assistant in the school system,” Howell said. “I have also chosen to pursue a career with professional basketball in the ABA with Team Trouble in Stockton, CA.”

Former swimmer, Katie Davidson, class of 2018, talks about her summer and begins to seek out new career opportunities.

“I spent the summer as a swim coach and lifeguard and am now actively looking for and applying to jobs,” Davidson said. “I would say most of the careers I’m looking at are at least influenced by my major and range anywhere from medical sales to working for environmental nonprofits to marketing jobs in the outdoor industry.”

As you can see, both student-athletes have yet to completely say goodbye to the sport they love, and in fact have transferred their skills into their lives after Whitman.

Howell has discovered how basketball is relevant in his new career of teaching young children. “My sport will continue to play a huge role in my life in many ways. I grew up with sports ever since I was a child, and the lessons I have learned from them are very applicable in my everyday life today,” Howell said. “Some of the ways sports continues to play a role in my life is when I have to deal with teaching the youth in the classroom or on the court. Being able to have patience and being dedicated with the class is something that my sport, basketball, has taught me.”

In many ways sports have crafted us into the people we are today. Being collegiate student-athletes we are competitive, organized and ambitious. This is a lifestyle that requires adaptability, patience, diligence, hard work and passion. It is these characteristics that have pushed Katie Davidson to pursue a competitive, healthy and fit lifestyle.

“A recent goal I’ve set for myself is to run a marathon. This fall marks my first time not being involved in organized sports since I was 5 years old, so I needed to give myself something to train and work towards,” Davidson said. “I’m looking forward to learning how to push myself outside of the pool and how to train without an entire team around me constantly.”

However, the most important things that student-athletes can gain from sports is the opportunities that they give back to us. After years and years of sweat, blood and tears, the time will come where we finally turn our jerseys in. We are then blessed with the most amazing experiences, the greatest friendships and the most fruitful of opportunities.

Howell reflects on the most amazing thing that has happened to him since graduating from not only Whitman College, but from Whitman College Men’s Basketball.

“The most exciting thing I have done since I graduated has been helping out the children of Stockton, California, in the school. Lots of children in this area do not have great family backgrounds so being able to have a chance to make a difference and be a positive role model they can look up to is something that I value,” Howell said. “I hope to be able to give them a better life after they graduate in hopes of one day also going to college. I also feel it helps that I play on a professional basketball team in their local area which is something the kids love.”

Most collegiate student-athletes will never completely retire from the game. The game that they had once dedicated

their everyday lives to will always hold a special place in their hearts. As these newly Whitman Alumni begin to progress into the “real world” and become a part of new teams, they continue to give back to the sport that had once gave them everything.