Dec. 23, 2015
The strength and conditioning coach pointed to a long rope dangling from the ceiling and laid down the challenge to Vanderbilt’s bowling team.
“Your mission is to climb the rope to the marker.”
The task proved to be no problem for most, who made the climb on the first try. A few had to huff and puff before eventually getting there. But the directive wasn’t easy for Nicole Powell, who came centimeters close on her first attempt and then as exhaustion set in, was farther and farther away on subsequent tries.
Failure didn’t set well with the junior from Orland Park, Ill., a town 45 minutes southwest of Chicago. Not touching the marker annoyed her but rather than pout or make excuses, she hatched a plan.
“I watched videos on how to climb a rope on YouTube,” Powell said, “I thought that if I visualized myself climbing that rope I could do it. I came back a third time and using those techniques climbed the rope.”
That story says much about the gritty resolve of this Commodore, whose collegiate bowling career so far has resembled the climb.
A Chicago Blackhawks fan, Powell had been a good junior bowler, finishing second and eighth at the prestigious Illinois state championships. She didn’t think her resume would draw interest from the kind of schools she wanted to attend and was mildly surprised when Vanderbilt began recruiting her, perhaps attracted by her left-handed ways.
“The opportunity to come to Vanderbilt came out of the blue,” Powell recalls, “so when I got here I didn’t really have any expectations that I’d break into the lineup. I was given the opportunity to travel to some meets my first semester and that atmosphere of just being there was helpful.
“I didn’t travel the spring semester and sitting on the bench at nationals was difficult,” she continues. “I wished I could have been on the lanes with my team. Then my sophomore year I didn’t travel the fall semester and I just decided I was going to do it. I was going to commit to doing everything I could on the lanes, in the weight room, with my grades and I kept on working hard.” Her efforts paid off as she finally cracked the travel team two tournaments into the spring, then got into the rotation and has been a significant producer since.
She comes from a determined family that seeks results, not excuses. Her older sister Erin has two masters and a PhD degree from Notre Dame and Penn State. Her dad Mike beat cancer.
“When we make up our minds to do something we just do it,” she says matter of factly. “When you face adversity you either fall back or fight through it. I think this is where I get my strength. When my dad got sick I wanted to be with him but he wanted me to be here and follow my dreams. I thought if he could get though Stage 4 cancer I could get through a rough day of classes or a bad day on the lanes.”
Last summer Powell was chosen to be among a group of 10 Vanderbilt student-athletes to make a Soles4Souls service trip to Cuba. The timing of the trip happened to put the Commodores at the United States Embassy on the first day it was open in a half century.
“It was an unbelievable experience,” Powell recalls. “I made life-long friends with the people on the trip, some of whom I would not have gotten to know. Getting to help others, relative strangers pulling together for a common goal – I’ll forever be talking about Cuba.”
The trip had other rewards. Powell is serious about a career in accounting and a member of the travel party was business manager Gina Owens, who said she’d give Nicole an opportunity to intern in the business office during the school year. Powell has been spending 8-10 hours per week working there this year.
Should anyone be surprised when Owens reports that Powell has been the best student intern she’s ever had?
