Tomorrow's Leaders Compete Here: Samantha Ford, Hartwick College

General | 3/5/2020 12:59:31 PM

Samantha Ford enjoyed a tremendous four-year career with the Hartwick women's soccer team, appearing in 63 games as a midfielder. Ford served as a captain in 2019, leading the Hawks to a 12-4-3 record, Empire 8 regular season co-championship title and a berth in the league's championship game. Hartwick finished 44-19-10 in her four seasons, including 20-6-5 in Empire 8 play. She helped lead Hartwick to a share of the 2017 Empire 8 Championship.

From Hartwick head coach Brian Knapp. "Sammy was a four-year standout for our women's soccer program. Throughout her career, she served as a leader both on and off the field. A captain for the team her senior year, Sammy demonstrated every characteristic of a true leader. Throughout her four years with the Hartwick women's soccer program, Sammy set the highest standard for what leadership looks like." 

Off of the field, Ford, a native of Acton, Mass., was a three-time recipient of the College's Phillip S. Wilder Award for Academic Distinction and a two-time member of the Empire 8 President's List.
 
Major: Business Administration & Creative Writing
 
Minor: English Literature
 
GPA: 3.8
 
Class Year: Senior
 
Anticipated Graduation Date: May, 2020
 
Favorite Professional Athlete/Pro Team: New England Patriots
 
Various Academic Honors/Academic or Athletic Clubs:

• Faculty Scholar (highest academic distinction at Hartwick College)
• Nominated for the John Christopher Hartwick Scholarship (highest scholarship awarded)
• Dean’s List 2016-2020
• Business Honors Society: Sigma Deta Delta
• Empire 8 President’s List
• Philip S. Wilder Jr. Award for Academic Distinction
• Hartwick College Honors Program
• Recipient of the Oyaron Scholarship and Linda S. French Business Scholarship

What Type of Community Service Have You Done:

• YMCA Youth Coach
• Junior Hawks Camp (Soccer clinic for kids)
• Campus Clean-up
• Blood Drive Organizing/Planning
• Painting for churches and hospitals
• EDP Clinic Coach (Sports clinic for people with disabilities)
• I-88 Soccer Tournament Bookkeeping

Plans After Graduation: I plan to move to New York City to pursue a marketing internship at a leading AdTech agency.
 
What Do You See Yourself Doing in 5 Years: I hope to be in a city other than Boston or New York. I want to experience living in as many places as possible within the next few years. In terms of career, I would love to be the leader of a creative content marketing team. And hopefully, I would be working to publish a short story collection.
 
What Do You See Yourself Doing in 10-15 Years/What is Your Ultimate Professional Goal: I would like to be an established content marketing professional. I would hope that after 10-15 years, I will be a leader in the industry I find most engaging. I would also really like to be a published author by that time. I love to write, so hopefully, I would have the flexibility to be working on a new novel or creative writing project.
 
Any Interesting or Exciting Internships You Have Done or Are Currently Working On (Where and what did you do or are you doing): I’ve been fortunate enough to work with a few companies as an intern:

• Studio Designer is an interior design software company. I worked as a remote social media consultant. I created content and oversaw the posting on their Instagram account from January 2018 to August of 2018.
• Skydeo is a mobile data insights company. I helped with email marketing and event planning for a Networking event held in Las Vegas. We were preparing for the CES Showcase (a technology showcase) and I got to attend the event with the company. It was really exciting to check out the new technology being released in 2018 and also to build my network of connections.
• Candela Medical is an aesthetic laser provider. This past summer (May 2019-Aug 2019), I worked as a content consultant and marketing intern. My big deliverable was to create a music video that was meant to motivate the sales team. I was completely responsible for the project and it was shown at a national company meeting. I also helped create a nation-wide campaign for a new product launch.

How Has Playing Collegiately and in the Empire 8 Prepared You For Life After College: Playing collegiately above all else has helped me establish my leadership skills. I’ve learned that it’s not easy being looked up to as a leader. The pressure to make the right decisions and to be a model of success can be difficult to manage. That feeling of immense responsibility for a group is one that not a lot of people get to experience before stepping into the working world. I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity to at least feel that pressure and develop my approach to leadership. Collegiate sports also taught me how to deliver something productive. It demands a high level of success and productivity. Being able to turn those demands into a deliverable is an essential skill for translating athletic success into academic and career achievement. Playing collegiately has taught me how to motivate a team and lead and how to manage my time effectively. It’s taught me how to know what I want and how to work for it. I think those things are so important for any career or profession.
 
Favorite Athletic Memory from Your Time in College: Honestly, it was playing paintball with my teammates and coaches. I wish I could say it was when we were E8 Co-Champs or when I scored or assisted a teammate. But the truth is, all the games start to blend together and the most memorable moments become the times you spend with your teammates. We played paintball as a team bonding activity during preseason. It was competitive and each team was incredibly strategic. We put the fastest players on the sides to capture the flags. The sharpest shooters had elevated vantage points. Our fearless players were on the front lines. We were merciless when we shot at each other and it was always so much fun. How could you not enjoy hitting the guy who makes you run the beep test with paint?
 
Biggest On-Campus Mentor: Dr. Pauline Stamp—she pushed me to maximize my academic achievement.
 
What Have You Learned About Yourself from Freshman to Senior Year: That I am capable of more than I believe I am. I think a lot of young athletes (especially women) are prone to doubting their abilities—I absolutely fall into that trap. I’ve learned that you can pretty much do whatever you would like with your life. As long as you want it enough and are willing to work for it, you can get anything done.
 
What Type of Leader Are You: I would consider myself a Democratic leader. I like to get the input of each individual and the opinion of the team as a whole before I make any decisions that would affect the group. I want each player to feel like they have a voice and a say in how the team operates. I worked really hard as a captain to make people feel comfortable speaking up and voicing their concerns/opinions. I wanted everyone to grow more confident as leaders, as players, and as people. If there was an aspect of the team that you didn’t like or that wasn’t working, I would tell you to address it with a question or a solution in mind. I’m very action-oriented. I always thought that if we (as a team) were going to talk about an issue, then the conversation would end with a step towards solution. I measure success based on growth, development, and productive change and, based on that criteria, I’m really proud of what the team was able to accomplish over the four years I’ve been apart of the program.
 
One Thing Most People Do Not Know About You: I’m pretty good at basketball.
 
Advice for Freshmen Teammates or Student-Athletes: Take a lot of pictures. It may not seem like it as an underclassman, but time really does fly in college. It’s hard to put that into perspective before you reach senior year. Take a picture after every game. Put a little caption under that says what you did in the game, something funny that happened on the bus, advice your coach gave you. As a senior and I’m sure as a retired player in the real world, it would be incredible to look back on each season. I would also say to take more risks. Try that move you saw on TV. Shoot from outside the box. Take the corner. Dive for a header. At the end of the game, that one mistake may seem like it’s the end of the world. It is not. When it’s all over, you’ll wish you tried the things you were scared to. You’ll wish you found out what would happen if you played forward for a game. You’ll regret the things you never did and you won’t even remember the tiny mistakes you made along the way. Enjoy it all, even the hard stuff. Laugh when the girl next to you throws up during the fitness test. Thank your coach for the criticism. Encourage the weakest link in practice. Because in four years, they take it all away from you.

The Empire 8 Conference's “Tomorrow’s Leaders Compete Here” Series features a student-athlete from one of its member institutions who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. The complete list of featured student-athletes is available.

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The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit www.empire8.com.
 
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