STANFORD, Calif. – Heather West, a 2009 graduate and two-time women's water polo team captain, has passed away after a nearly three-year battle with cancer.
West was a three-time academic All-American while an undergraduate on The Farm and received her bachelor's degree in environmental history. In the pool, she led the Cardinal to a 104-17 overall record, 42-4 mark in conference and four top-three NCAA finishes. Stanford won a MPSF championship during her freshman season. As a junior in 2008 West scored a career-high 22 goals and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament second team.
"Heather was an incredible friend, student and athlete," Jessica Steffens, West's Stanford classmate, teammate and close friend said. "She was a fierce competitor, the type of person you wanted in your corner, and one of those rare people that cared to do the small things and to do them well. She was more than an exemplary Stanford representative, she was an exemplary individual period."
"Heather embodied the noblest virtues of the student-athlete: loyalty, courage, resilience and devotion to learning and improving," Dunlevie Family Director of Women's Water Polo John Tanner added. "She was a wonderful citizen in every community in which she engaged, inspiring everyone with her passion and joy."
After graduating from Stanford, West worked at Suntech America Inc., a global solar module manufacturer, before returning to The Farm as a program and research associate for The Bill Lane Center for the American West, managing undergraduate programs and conducting research on water stewardship in the craft brewing industry. She also led a team of faculty and graduate students in designing and teaching a new, one-month field seminar exploring western water issues for undergraduate students in the Colorado River Basin. While an undergraduate, West also interned at the Environmental Protection Agency in the pretreatment water group.
"On the river, Heather was a splendid leader and full of derring-do," David Kennedy said of West's aforementioned 2011 Sophomore College on the history and management of the Colorado River Basin. Kennedy is a founding co-director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West and the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History Emeritus at Stanford. "She swam every swimmable rapid and some not so swimmable – at least by ordinary mortals, climbed every mesa, leaped into the water off every promontory and in general was the most boon of companions and an inspiration to all."
West went on to graduate from Yale's joint MBA/Master of Forestry program in 2015 with interests in conservation finance, working lands management and regenerative food systems. She spent one summer at Beartooth Capital Partners, a ranchland investment group in Bozeman, Mont., and another interning at The Nature Conservancy in its conservation investment group.
Stanford Athletics and Office of Development have worked in conjunction with The Bill Lane Center for the American West to honor Heather's enduring spirit. Those inclined are welcome to give to the Bill Lane Center for the American West. This fund provides support for students to participate in Sophomore College, a three-week immersive and experiential learning program, internships and other field-based programs at the Lane Center.
"Heather once convinced a novice backpacker to summit Mount Whitney within 24 hours of the trip, and a non-camper to celebrate her birthday sleeping in the rain and both came away smiling" Steffens said. "Heather loved adventure and adventure seemed to love her right back. We hope this scholarship and its recipients embody the same enthusiasm for the outdoors and the same passion for sharing it with others - novices and stubborn city slickers alike."
Giving to this fund in Heather's memory is intended to ensure support for undergraduate programs, including experiential education in the West, internships for both undergraduate and graduate students to explore environmental and energy policy issues in the West and additional course development at the Lane Center.
Gifts in honor of Heather West can be made electronically at west.stanford.edu/support. Checks payable to Stanford University [memo line: BLC/Heather West] can be mailed to:
The Bill Lane Center for the American West
473 Via Ortega, Room 174
Stanford, CA 94305-4225
A celebration of life for Heather will take place this Saturday at Shields Gazebo in the UC Davis Arboretum beginning at 11 a.m. and includes a remembrance walk through the oak grove. Colorful attire is requested.