The following is a spotlight on Clare Culver, Fordham University's 2023 nominee for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. The Atlantic 10 institutions nominated a total of 17 outstanding student-athletes for the award (READ MORE). The A-10 will spotlight each of the institutional nominees.
Clare Culver Profile
Clare Culver is a three-time All-Conference selection, the Fordham record holder in three individual distance swimming events (500, 1000 and 1650 freestyle), a member of the Rams' record 400 freestyle relay team and winner of Fordham's 2023 Kiernan Award, granted to a senior student-athlete who makes significant academics and athletics contributions.
Her academic resume includes four years on the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Fordham Dean's List, a two-time A-10 All-Academic Team selection for swimming & diving and CSC Academic All-District accolades in 2023. She also won the Dr. K. York and M. Noelle Chynn Undergraduate Essay Prize in Ethics and Morality from Fordham Center for Ethics Education.
Culver has contributed significantly to her community, serving three years on the Fordham Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), and was the SAAC representative on the Vice President of Student Affairs Council She was a member of the Dean's cabinet at Fordham, a leadership appointment, and participated in the university's Athletics Leadership Academy, drawing a leader of distinction award. She volunteered time with The Great Relay and DOROT, serving the swimming and New York adult communities. Culver also was a part of numerous academic organizations, including the Fordham Psychology Program, Alpha Sigma Nu and Sigma Xi.
Q & A
What was the hardest obstacle you faced as a student-athlete?
Overcoming several significant injuries was an unexpected obstacle. During my sophomore year, the pool was shut down due to COVID. Practices and collegiate meets were canceled. To continue whatever training I could, I started running outdoors. As a swimmer, I had never run distances before. My good-intentioned efforts to maintain training during Covid ended with a stress fracture in my hip and a torn labrum. I was then put on crutches with no weight bearing for three months in an attempt to heal the fracture. Fortunately for me, I was able to avoid hip surgery, although I continued to swim with the torn labrum for my final two seasons. In hindsight, the timing of that injury aligning with a year of non-competition was in some ways a blessing. Later, during my Senior year, I was dealing with a shoulder injury that limited my ability to train. I felt more prepared to deal with an injury the second time around and was better able to recognize the benefit in taking a step back in order to continue moving forward. Thanks to a great team of medical professionals and athletic trainers and lots of support from my teammates, coaches, and family, I was able to fully recover and continue competing at a high level.
Who or What has been your biggest inspiration or motivation
My parents and my brother have always been my biggest motivation. Watching my younger brother begin his swimming journey was extremely motivating for me and has made me incredibly proud to watch over the years. Over my 11 years of swimming, my parents have been my biggest cheerleaders in both wins and losses. I feel extremely fortunate to have family that supports my athletic and academic goals without creating unnecessary pressure to perform. On great swims and poor swims alike, they always told me I did a great job and that they were proud of me. Hearing that after every race, regardless of the outcome, made me want to continue swimming. Their years of driving me to early morning practices, out-of-state meets, and lost family vacations due to training has not gone without notice nor gratitude. My parents have also motivated me to give back in areas outside of the pool. Both having backgrounds and careers dedicated to public service, it was an expectation that I would continue that in my own way. That idea has been central to my collegiate career and beyond and is ultimately why I chose to engage in research, especially community-engaged research. I have also been motivated and inspired by the fantastic coaches and teammates I have had over the years. Throughout club swimming, high school competition and my collegiate career, my teammates and coaches have consistently motivated me to be a better swimmer and a better person.
What hard goals have you set and/or accomplish?
One of my biggest goals throughout my undergraduate studies was to successfully defend my Seniors Honors Thesis. I accomplished that goal in May after over a year of conducting research and with incredible guidance from my mentors Dr. Anna MacKay-Brandt and Dr. Molly Zimmerman. Completing my Honors Thesis is the first step in a number of professional goals I have set for myself: I aim to pursue a PhD in Health Psychology and continue intervention research focused on improving well-being and emotion management.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received? The worst?
One of the best pieces of advice I have received was to “meet the moment.” To me, meeting the moment means letting go of a rigid set of expectations and accepting that much of what we encounter will be unchangeable and out of our control- but that ultimately we can choose to be fully present and in control of our own reactions. Additionally, to meet the moment speaks to rising to the occasion and using our talents, skills, and privilege to positively impact your environment. My parents’ advice to “always win like a champion and lose like a champion” also rings true in all aspects of life. One of the most damaging pieces of advice I have received was that “winners never quit.” In my experience, especially in dealing with injuries, sometimes taking a break can be the difference between ending a career early or maintaining longevity and success.
What was your favorite class/professor and why?
Three classes taught by outstanding professors substantially informed my professional development and career path. Psychology of Well-Being, taught by Dr. David Marcotte, was a class that provided tangible skills to improve well-being and introduced me to the field of positive psychology. My Cognition course, taught by Dr. Molly Zimmerman, was another one of my favorite classes that introduced me to a more neuroscientific perspective that influenced my Senior Honors Thesis. Dr. Meg Stapleton-Smith taught a Bioethics class that challenged deep and critical thinking surrounding the ethical dilemmas of science and medicine-from the role of a physician to the ethics of the gun control epidemic.
What is something you learned about yourself during the unique COVID year?
The COVID year offered much perspective on the role of athletics in my life, and it allowed me to explore my identity outside of sport. I recognize that being able to do this in a pandemic was a privilege, and I’m grateful I was able to remain healthy and safe, especially being in New York City during that time. Being out of the pool- and in my case, out of commission with a hip injury- allowed for reflection on my identity as an athlete, and on my identity without athletics. I’m grateful for Fordham CONNECT, a club started by student-athletes that facilitated hard but necessary conversations about identity without sport, among other issues faced by student-athletes. I remember attending those virtual meetings and feeling frustrated by the immense uncertainty surrounding the future of our programs, but grateful to be able to openly discuss those frustrations and dashed hopes with teammates and student-athletes who felt similarly. In retrospect, I can see that we were collectively grieving the loss of a year of collegiate athletics. Perhaps more importantly, we were also actively figuring out our roles and identities apart from athletics. Beginning that process during Sophomore year rather than post-season Senior year was something that benefited me greatly and allowed me to be more involved in and around campus during my last two years of college.
What do you think is the most important issue for student-athletes today?
Student-athletes today deal with much more than training for and competing in their sport. One of the most important issues for student-athletes remains creating a healthy culture within and among teams, athletic departments, and across campuses. This includes directly addressing the ongoing mental health crisis and providing resources for student-athletes, as well as creating safe environments for student-athletes targeting sexual harassment and sexual assault prevention measures. Slowly, we are starting to see the change brought about by past decades of work against these issues, but more work is needed. Cooperation between athletic departments and student-athletes is crucial for this to be accomplished. The work being done at Fordham and across the nation by incredible student-leaders makes me hopeful these issues will be taken seriously and dealt with accordingly.
