Carrying Skills Off the Court
An interview with a 2021 student-athlete graduate
By Kate Yapp
Ella Graham is a recent graduate of St Catherine University. She double-majored in math and English and played on the tennis team during her four years at St. Kate’s. After her graduation in 2021, Graham found employment with GreenCorps in Minnesota, a domestic version of the PeaceCorps focused on sustainability and the environment, her role being in Green Infrastructure Improvements.
As part of her work life, Graham interacts with a variety of people. She especially enjoys collaborating with the sustainability coordinator engineers for the city. She remarked that “they are so competent and passionate about what they do and it’s really inspiring to see people care so much about sustainability and making it equitable.” It reminds her of the commitment and passion she witnessed in faculty and fellow students at St. Kate’s.
From her time on the tennis team, Graham told me that “all of her fondest memories are with teammates, not usually playing tennis, but just hanging out or showing up early before workouts.” She would sit by someone different each time and get to know people. She wants to have that same connection with coworkers. She loves hearing what her coworkers are up to, asking questions, and commending people. She is proactive about making connections so she can actively build the type of community she wants to be part of. Recognizing the good work that people are doing is an important part of that. She loves the opportunity she has in her work to help the world and values being in a group that is collaborating to do something good.
Graham and the 2019 Tennis Team at a retreat over spring break.
She enjoys weekly work meetings because they remind her of her time on the tennis team. After practice, they used to have teammate appreciation when you could call out another person and compliment and encourage them. She feels that “naming that gratitude for each other helps form a strong, genuine team.”
Tennis helped Graham grow her soft skills and name them. She realized she loves talking to people but naming and owning that as a skill in the workplace is important to her. Women tend to be very talented at fostering teamwork and camaraderie in the workplace but are rarely officially recognized for that emotional labor and it comes to just be expected of them. Part of making a way for yourself and demanding the respect you deserve in a man’s world is also knowing what you bring to the table and how much value those things hold. Her time as an athlete at St. Kate’s empowered her to be secure in taking credit for her work and knowing her worth so that she can advocate for the space and time she deserves in the workforce.
