Hickman Adds Student to Student-Athlete

Hickman Adds Student to Student-Athlete

4/4/2006

By Jennifer O’Neill

Fielding athletes that can add student to student-athlete is a valued quality at academic institutions in the NCAA, but for a college athlete to achieve the highest level in the classroom and on the field is a rare combination.  But Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse player Kate Hickman has excelled at both.
 
The senior leads the Commodore attack in scoring, and she has the highest grade point average on the team

“She is a work horse,” said Vanderbilt Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Cathy Swezey.  “She is just one of those kids that has it all, but it is not because it came to her easily.  She works hard at everything she does, and she just knows how to manage her time and get everything done.  She is a great role model for the rest of the team.”

Hickman has started every game for the Commodores since her sophomore season.  Also, the Severna Park, Md. native has scored at least one goal in every game she has played in since April 2004.  She attributes her goal-scoring ability to her experience.

“I have had a good amount of experience from starting and playing when I was a sophomore and we went to the Final Four,” Hickman said.  “I think that now I am just confident and I trust my capabilities. I am more focused on our attack as a whole which allows me to not put as much pressure on myself. And by doing that I have learned to trust my own capabilities and trust that everyone around me has my back.”

Last season, Hickman led the team with 41 goals and 47 total points.  Through nine games this season she leads the Commodores with 27 goals and 40 total points.  She has been named a pre-season First Team All-American Lacrosse Conference selection this season and was named to the First Team All-American Lacrosse Conference at the conclusion of last season.

Beyond her goal scoring prowess, Hickman shines in the classroom.  The communications studies major has made the Vanderbilt Dean’s List six straight semesters.  She maintains a GPA of 3.7.  She also already has completed her communications studies major, so she is taking courses to obtain a minor in studio art.

“I am taking studio arts classes this semester since I finished up my major last semester,” Hickman said.  “I have been blessed with academic talent.  I am not the type of person to stress out too much about work, and when it comes to my academic abilities I am confident in myself.”

Due to her academic and athletic success, Hickman has been nominated for an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for spring sports.  Each year 87 female and 87 male student-athletes receive these scholarships.  According to the NCAA, they are awarded “to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition.”

To succeed on the field and in the classroom, a student-athlete must enjoy hard work.  Hickman enjoys working hard so much that it is the reason she decided to play lacrosse at Vanderbilt.

“Vanderbilt had a great academic environment, and I loved the potential athletically,” she said.  “I saw the program going somewhere and for me it is so much more exciting to work and get amazing results than it is to get something easy.”

Hickman hopes that her work horse mentality can help the Commodores succeed this season and return them to the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Tournament.