Jessica Williams - Women's Track & Field
Jessica Williams is a senior captain on the Carnegie Mellon women's track & field team. Jessica is pursuing a degree in biology.
After choosing to come to Carnegie Mellon, I was so excited to find
out that I could participate in track and field. Coming from such a
small town in Pennsylvania, it was a great accomplishment to be
able to come to such a renowned university and also participate in
a varsity sport.
Many people regard track and field as an individual sport and don’t acknowledge the fact that it is very much team based. Track and field has taught me a lot about myself and team dynamics from the integration of the different events and athletes that it is composed of. The life of a track athlete can be one of the most frustrating because in essence, you can never win. As a high jumper, it takes immense concentration to clear the bar each time, and every time the bar doesn’t fall, it goes up higher. In the end, there is always going be a height that you cannot clear. Frustration usually gets the better of me, and overcoming this frustration was the most difficult aspect of my track and field career, not the long runs, interval workouts or lifting regiment. Controlling this frustration has been a difficult journey, but I have slowly improved to where I am today. Through my experiences with this track and field team, I learned how to calm down enough to set a personal record this season. Moreover, being able to control my frustration during athletic competitions has allowed me to apply these techniques in other areas of my life such as academics and the workplace.
I have always considered myself to be introverted, thus needing a moment to reflect after any occurrence before any action be taken. The exposure that this sport and the team have provided me to different situations has created a pathway for me to be able to respond to important situations more rapidly and with more confidence. My leadership skills have grown with me throughout the years I have spent as an athlete, starting with becoming a Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) representative for track and field. This was a great experience through which I learned the skills necessary to become a team leader through bridging the gap between student-athletes and athletic coordinators. SAAC was good preparation for what has led me to my current role as the women’s field captain on the track and field team.
The impact from being a member of the track and field team has helped me with other non-athletic activities on campus. On this track team, the variety of majors and other activities our student-athletes participate in is truly amazing. I probably would not have met some of these individuals had it not been this sport to bring us together. Some of my teammates encouraged me to apply to be a Resident Assistant (RA), and with their help and influence, I am currently the second floor RA in West Wing. All these organizations and activities were the building blocks in an effort that has molded me into the mature and responsible individual I am today.
Being at Carnegie Mellon and being a student-athlete is not always easy. Competitions usually take the team far away, but it also comes with some excitement being exposed to different regions of the US. Being able to balance out schoolwork, activities, practices, and meets is not the easiest task, but if it wasn’t for track and field, I would not be as organized or as hard working as I am today. Ultimately, the experiences I have gained from being a part of this team can not be expressed through words.