"My Story Matters" | Lorna Li '22

By Lorna Li '22

Lorna Li is a member of the Wellesley lacrosse program from Taunton, Mass. and a student-athlete representative on PERA's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee.

Wellesley Athletics has given me more than I ever anticipated when, full of nerves and hopes and dreams for the future, I opened my acceptance email on December 7, 2017.

My path to a spot on the Wellesley Lacrosse team was an uncommon one. I only played on my high school team and felt a good deal of insecurity about not playing club lacrosse like most of my new Wellesley teammates. Coach Schoenberger never made me feel like I was behind in any way, but she continued to hold me to a high standard. She taught me that excuses and insecurities are useless and the best way to reconcile those two things was simple: Work harder.

As a student on financial aid, I was also concerned I would miss out on opportunities or new equipment because of my inability to buy it myself. Wellesley Athletics does not overlook accessibility and not only strives for, but ensures, that every athlete who can participate gets to, regardless of their financial situation. Because of the generosity of alumnae and donors, every incoming first year gets a new stick and goggles, and in my case, as goalie, I received a new helmet which made that first fall ball season feel extra special.

"My role on our DEI committee has been so much less about what I can bring to the table and entirely about recognizing the needs of the entire Wellesley Athletics community."

There have been so many people within Wellesley Athletics that make it known that they have my back and that is something you cannot find at just any place. The access to the Athletic Training Room and training staff is a priceless resource that has given me a level of support I never expected. And, the gritty lifting sessions with the team, enhanced by the encouragement (and great playlist music taste!) of Coach Tim, consistently demands the same excellence from us, making it easy to work so hard. My fondest moments of athletics have been in the weight room where we all pick stuff up and put it down with some banter in between.

That said, lacrosse has not been without struggle. I believe the sport of lacrosse is classist, predominantly white, and dismissive of Indigenous culture when Indigenous people developed the sport -- I would be remiss to not note that our lacrosse field sits on Indigenous land. In my opinion, the team does not have adequate representation of Black, Indigenous, Asian, and Latinx athletes. My hope for the future is that our department can give coaches the resources to recruit in areas not typically looked at, and I think it can.

To that end, I am very honored to be a student representative on our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEI) and to bring my perspective as a gay athlete, an Asian athlete, and the daughter of two immigrants. DEI has worked to develop gender inclusive bathrooms and changing rooms in the Sports Center, better racial sensitivity training for coaches, and spaces for students to have hard conversations about privilege and bias within Athletics.

My role on our DEI committee has been so much less about what I can bring to the table and entirely about recognizing the needs of the entire Wellesley Athletics community. Despite the progress I mentioned, those needs still call for better gender inclusive language and action from administration and coaches in an effort to create a more positive experiences for our transgender and non-binary athletes.

We still have work to do, but to say that Wellesley Athletics is the highlight of my Wellesley experience would be an understatement. Wellesley Lacrosse has brought me my best friends who I feel like will be around for a lifetime. Wellesley Athletics has brought me a sense of community full of people who challenge me to think harder, run faster, and lift more. The coaching staff of Wellesley Lacrosse has proved to me that I can achieve so much more than I tell myself. It is so hard to be away from the Keohane Sports Center and to only see community members over Zoom, but I feel so incredibly lucky to hold a place so dear in my heart that makes distance so difficult.

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.