Why D3? Wellesley Basketball's Caitlin Aguirre '20

Senior point guard Caitlin Aguirre has been a game changer for the Wellesley College basketball team since her first year with the program. The two-year captain started 88 of her 91 appearances, tallying an impressive 1,103 points, 344 rebounds, and 201 assists. Aguirre has collected many honors along the way including New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year for her performance in the 2016-17 season, All-Conference First Team (2018-19) and Second Team (2017-18, 2018-19) honors, as well as three NEWMAC Academic All-Conference honors. 

The El Paso, Texas native found a second home in the athletics community at Wellesley, where she found life-long friends and a support system that was there for her both on and off the court. With a love for community engagement, Aguirre became the Health Partnerships Fellow for Civic Engagement. In this position, she created a new community partnership with Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. Wellesley allowed Aguirre to follow her childhood dream of becoming a scientist, as she is majoring in Biochemistry.

Aguirre believes her experiences as a student-athlete at Wellesley have given her important leadership skills and a mindset capable of overcoming adversity, especially with a supportive team behind her. She knows these skills will allow her to accomplish the goals she has set out for herself and her future in medicine and public health, starting with applying to medical school this summer. Recently, she took the time to speak with wellesleyblue.com to discuss her college experience and what it means to be a student-athlete at Wellesley. 

What made you decide to attend Wellesley College?

Of the schools I was choosing from, Wellesley stood out from the others because I knew that I would be challenged academically while still being able to pursue basketball along with my other interests at a high level. 

Have you always wanted to study Biochemistry? What do you enjoy most about your major?

Since I was in first-grade I clearly remember telling people that I wanted to be a scientist so my interest in pursuing some type of STEM pathway was clear from a young age. As an athlete, I developed an interest in human health and wellness and coming to Wellesley I was keen to learn more about biology and chemistry. What I enjoy most about my major is that it is very collaborative. Because biochemistry is an interdisciplinary field and major, I'm often collaborating on problem sets, group projects, and research with students and professors who each bring unique strengths and interests within the field.

What are your plans after graduation?

After I graduate I plan to pursue a career in medicine and public health as I finish applying to medical school this summer.

How has your life as a student-athlete prepared you for life after Wellesley? 

Being a student-athlete has prepared me in several aspects of my life especially in terms of developing different leadership skills, however, the most important takeaways that I've had is through facing failure as a team and learning the skills and developing the mindset to overcome it together. 

You were involved with Boston Healthcare for the Homeless. Can you talk a little bit about what you did as a volunteer and how that has impacted both the community and your time here at Wellesley?

In my third and fourth year at Wellesley, I became the Health Partnerships Fellow for Civic Engagement. In this position, I established and participated in a new community partnership with Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP), a step-down respite facility for individuals who are experiencing homelessness and recovering from different types of medical procedures. In collaboration with the Volunteer Director of BHCHP, I developed a weekly volunteer opportunity for students interested in healthcare. Each week students organize fun and engaging activities such as arts and crafts and board games as a way to facilitate creating connections between patients and volunteers. 

Being so involved on campus between academics, athletics and other commitments, how do you manage all of your time?

Managing my time in college was challenging at first, but I learned two important lessons in my first-year that helped to make it easier. The first one was learning to be adaptable. After my first semester, I quickly learned that my old study techniques didn't work for me in college so I sought out help from my professors and those around me to develop new ones that allowed me to be more successful and eventually more time-effective. The second lesson was to "quit to commit" as my Career Education and Civic Engagement mentors like to put it. What this phrase meant to me was instead of being partially committed to a lot of different things around campus, finding only a few things that I was very passionate about and being fully committed to those communities. For me that turned out to be Basketball and Civic Engagement.

You joined a pretty exclusive club this season by scoring your 1,000th point, how did accomplishing that milestone feel?

This milestone, even though it was an individual accolade, it truly didn't feel like one. The main feeling that I had when reaching 1,000 points was gratitude towards the countless people that have shaped me as a person and basketball player since I was five years old. At Wellesley, to my teammates and coaches for pushing me everyday, and my strength coaches and athletic trainers for keeping me healthy throughout my four years, I am especially grateful towards.

What is your favorite Wellesley Basketball memory?

My favorite basketball memory was senior day. That game culminated all the best parts of my athletic career as it was a full team effort to win and my parents, friends, and others who supported me along the way were there to celebrate alongside us.

What do you like most about being a student-athlete?

Besides competing for Wellesley, I love the athletic community. From my teammates, coaches, and athletic trainers to PERA and the custodial staff at the KSC, everyone I've met through playing basketball and working within the PERA department has been so supportive and truly care about student-athletes beyond what they do on the court or field. Being far from home, this supportive community has been imperative to my success as a student-athlete. I love the people that I have been able to meet through sports, academics and civic engagement. In each of these communities I have found really supportive and like-minded people that will be life-long friends. 

What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?

"Never doubt yourself." I doubted that I could attend a high caliber school like Wellesley so at first I limited myself to only considering state schools within Texas. That was only until the basketball coaching staff reached out to me and told me that they believed in my capabilities academically and athletically.

Wellesley Athletics strives for excellence at the conference, regional, and national levels, while providing opportunities for students to achieve their potential and learn the values of discipline, leadership, critical thinking, and responsibility to oneself and others.