The first time I stepped foot on Stanford's campus was on my unofficial visit for the water polo team during my junior year of high school. I loved watching Stanford win the Homecoming football game against Oregon State, and the spirited student section and carefree quirkiness of the marching band really caught my eye. The band was dressed in crazy outfits for Halloween, and the rest of the students were decked out in their Red Zone gear and cheering along to "All Right Now." It was so different from high school, where everyone was so hyper-focused on academics and extracurriculars to set themselves up for college that they couldn't stop to enjoy their experience. There in the stadium, I saw what has come to embody #NerdNation for me, a celebratory refusal to compromise any aspect of the college experience. And I knew I wanted that.
During recruiting weekend, our coach JT always stresses the reason that student-athletes choose Stanford: to be challenged, but to excel, in every facet of their college career. After four years of grinding, I wanted to broaden my experience. I didn't want to leave college and feel like there was anything I had wanted to do but hadn't tried. So right from the start, I dug into every opportunity. I made fast friends with my freshman roommate and became co-social chair on dorm government. I got FCC certified and had my own radio show. I juggled these while navigating my first season on the water polo team. As exciting as it was to be on the team, it was also super intimidating. I was thankful to be playing with some of the best players in the world and learning so much, but there were times when I doubted my ability, and my confidence definitely took a hit. But I put my head down, gave all my effort and trusted in the system and my teammates. I gained such inner strength fighting for incremental improvements among the elite in my sport. Winning the national championship that year reinforced that we were on the right path and that all our work was worth it. I understood what it meant to represent Stanford alongside my teammates and push ourselves every day to do so with pride.
I tried to always take this to heart and make the most of the opportunities Stanford offered, and it shaped my approach to my next three years. In choosing my major, I did not play it safe. My goal was to find my passions while challenging myself, and Symbolic Systems fit the bill. The inter-disciplinary approach allowed me to explore many different fields from neuroscience to linguistics to artificial intelligence. Along the way, I had amazing classes that I loved and some back-breaking classes I had to grit my teeth and grind through. At times I stretched myself a little thin – I staffed a freshman dorm, served on the officers council for my sorority, supported my friends by squeezing in performances of the Mendicants and other theatrical productions, and even went to a few marching band rehearsals. It was only through the support of Stanford water polo that I was able to pursue all of my passions, and I can honestly say, I have no regrets. JT and the rest of the coaching staff as well as all of my teammates made me feel supported and important to the team by being an ambassador across campus while doing what I loved. I did my best to live out our team's value of "inspiring Stanford to inspire the world."
I sincerely believe it was only by taking this broad approach that I was able to hone in on the direction I want to pursue. After toughing it out through chemistry, linear algebra, and math for computer scientists, I found my passion for ethics and public health, and realized that in the long term I want to do something that impacts my community. This amalgamation of my interest in community work, my love for STEM, and the joy I found coaching youth girls on the Stanford club team led me to apply to Teach for America in hopes of teaching science to students in high need areas to help contribute to educational equity.
When I was accepted into the program the summer before my senior year, I couldn't have imagined how much the landscape would change over this last year that would make helping kids at under-resourced schools even more critical. At the start of the school year, I was juggling more than I ever had: my last classes, my senior season, TFA certification, and the extracurriculars I just couldn't bring myself to drop. But I couldn't have been happier or more excited to be doing what I loved as my days at Stanford were coming to a close. And then, like everyone else, my world was turned upside down. College after college began sending their students home and our "what-if's" became our shocking reality. There was so much despair -- in my teammates and the rest of the athletes who were having our final seasons cut short, in my housemates and friends in the class of 2020 who were forced to say a hasty goodbye without the traditions that help with transition, and in the world around us where people feared getting sick or losing their jobs and their loved ones. While it was heartbreaking to see my teammates pour themselves into this season's work and not be able to have closure, it was also an abrupt end to my first and only season playing with my sister. Thankfully, my teammates and I are no strangers to dealing with loss, coming back the next day, and rising to the occasion to be leaders. I feel so lucky to be supported by the strongest women I know, ones who I can count on to never give up.
For now, I am enjoying this unexpected opportunity to spend time with my family before continuing on my journey. On the road ahead, much is uncertain, but whether live or distance learning, I can't wait to teach in the fall. The sun may have set on my water polo career, but all I have gained from being a student-athlete at Stanford is helping me to take each obstacle as it comes, rely on my support system, and never stop striving to be a positive impact while doing what I love.
Go Card.
Kayla Constandse