As the 2022 University of Georgia spring graduation approaches, the Georgia Bulldogs are spotlighting several special student-athletes who represent The Georgia Way.
Cecily Stoute doesn’t have to look far for inspiration. The Georgia women’s soccer player, who graduates this week with a degree from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications, admires everything about star sports broadcaster Maria Taylor, the former Bulldog volleyball and basketball player.
“Her being a former Georgia Bulldog is the cherry on top,” said Stoute, an All-SEC defender from Atlanta. “Her being a Black woman in a very male-dominated area, and continuously sticking up for herself and Black women, and just women in general, she’s definitely a role model.”
Stoute would love to one day follow in Taylor’s footsteps and be a sideline reporter or cover the Olympics. But that’s down the road a ways.
Though Stoute is graduating, she’s not saying goodbye to UGA or the soccer team. She has an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic and plans to continue her playing career as she pursues her Master’s degree in Journalism. She won’t know until she’s in the thick of it how the demands of playing and the demands of grad school will mesh, but she’s going to put everything she has into both.
“I really don’t know what grad school’s going to look like, but at the end of the day, I’m just going to go for it,” she said. “If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out, but I’d rather try than completely rule it out.”
Before coming to Georgia, Stoute was a bit of a trailblazer, serving as the kicker on the Chattahoochee High School football team. As a Georgia freshman, she got the chance to play on the Trinidad and Tobago national team in the CONCACAF Women’s Championship World Cup Qualifier against the United States and Mexico. As a Bulldog defender, Stoute was a strong, solid force on the back line, twice earning second-team All-SEC honors on the field and academic honor roll awards off of it.
“I think something that stands out is my freshman year, when I got here, it was so glamorous because it was a whole new community and I was having such a good time on and off the field — getting to know the UGA community and Athens for the first time was really amazing,” she said. “And then on top of that, I got to play in front of a ton of people and I got to join this really cool athletic community.
“I think stepping into it or the first time is something I will always remember.”
Miller Lantis arrived at Georgia with a good idea of where she was headed after college.
“Our family doctor practices osteopathic medicine, and he’s just inspired me while watching him over the years,” said Lantis, an equestrian rider from Corunna, Mich. “I really appreciated the emphasis he places on the holistic view of the body, so he’s not only concerned about the physical factors but also the mental and spiritual well-being of patients.”
And now, having earned her degree, Lantis is all set to attend Michigan State’s College of Osteopathic Medicine.
“It’s definitely bittersweet,” she said of graduating and wrapping up her Georgia career. “I love Athens and I love this school, but I’ve got another journey starting soon.”
Lantis has definitely made the most of her time at Georgia and in Athens. In 2021, she was a member of the Bulldogs’ NCEA national championship team. She’s also earned academic honors every year, and she received the team’s Philanthropic Achiever Award for her commitment to community service.
Along with a full load of classes and being a member of the equestrian team, Lantis also got some real-world medical experience working at some local clinics.
“That has been amazing,” she said. “The doctors that I’ve worked with and the experiences they’ve allowed me to have, it’s so hands-on, and they’ve trusted me with their patients. That has really helped me grow and grow.”
While winning the national championship was the most exciting part of Mantis’ collegiate experience, she said from start to finish, her collegiate journey has been challenging and rewarding.
“As a student-athlete, especially here at Georgia, it’s just been the best possible opportunity. I can’t imagine having gone anywhere else,” she said. “There were certain demands, and some days were challenging, but in the end, it has been the best for me, to grow in every aspect of life. The connections and friendships I’ve made, they’re propelled me so much further than I ever would have imagined.”
Owen Condon is headed to Dallas, Texas, to continue his education and his football career. The offensive lineman from Oklahoma City is graduating from Georgia this week with a degree in Finance and is headed to SMU for his Master’s degree and to play for the Mustangs.
The next chapter of his collegiate career is about preparing for the future, which Condon hopes includes a career in real estate investment banking.
“It feels really good,” Condon said of graduating from Georgia “Looking back, it definitely went by fast. A lot of hard work went into it, both academically and athletically, so it’s a fun week to sit back and think about memories and all the time spent in different places around campus and Athens. It’s going to be fun having my family here to celebrate everything.”
Those different places include the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall and the Terry College of Business.
“The Butts-Mehre building, a lot of hours spent in there with teammates and friends, so I’m definitely going to remember that place,” he said. “A lot of time spent over at Terry, just studying and classes. It was a good spot to meet people and branch out. Those are probably the two places I’ll remember the most.”
The day he’ll remember the most is an easy one: Jan. 10, 2022. That’s when the Bulldogs beat Alabama in the CFP National Championship Game in Indianapolis. For Condon, who played in a total of 22 games, including 14 of Georgia’s 15 in 2021, helping the Bulldogs win a national title in his final season at Georgia was pretty much a “perfect” ending.
“This year was the perfect way to cap off a four-year career here,” he said. “I really couldn’t have planned it out any other way, to be honest with you. It went perfectly.”
Georgia swimmer Andrew Abruzzo had the pleasure of being teammates with his sister, Mia, during the 2021-22 season. He was a senior and she was a freshman, but it won’t be a one-year opportunity.
“Not much is changing, luckily,” he said.
Abruzzo, who graduates this week with a degree in Finance, is sticking around to pursue a Master’s degree in Business Analytics and for one final season in the pool. All NCAA student-athletes that were in school when the pandemic hit in 2020 received an extra year of eligibility, so the Abruzzos will be together again next year.
“That’ll be nice. It’ll be nice to stick around the team for one more year. The environment’s really great, and it’ll be nice because I’ll get to see her a lot more often,” said Abruzzo, a three-time All-American from Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
This summer, Abruzzo is doing an internship with Nike, and in the fall he will begin work on his Master’s. He said he’s pursuing his graduate degree in Business Analytics because he wants “to learn to code more proficiently,” and he feels that degrees in Finance and Business Analytics “will highlight each other well.”
As for his long-term professional goals, Abruzzo said: “I would just like to be a consultant of some sort; I want to be able to work with people, too. I want to help people through being able to code, being able to give feedback and takeaways.”
Looking back on his four years as an undergraduate and a Bulldog swimmer, Abruzzo said there wasn’t one moment that shines brightest. Instead, there are countless everyday moments that will always stay with him.
Back in October 2020, Georgia volleyball’s Claire Rothenberger said during an interview that in a perfect world, she wanted “to have a family and be working in accounting somewhere” in 10 years.
“I know immediately after (college), I’m going to work in one of the Big Four firms, but I don’t know if I’ll be there in 10 years,” she said nearly two years ago. “Ideally, I’ll still be doing something in accounting, maybe bring it into the sports aspect — I think that would be super cool.”
Reminded of that this week as the native of Aurora, Ill., graduates with degrees in Real Estate and Accounting, Rothenberger laughed. She’s already lined up a job, starting this summer, with one of those Big Four firms, PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), in Boston.
“Actually, that was more on the money than I thought it would be,” she said.
In her final season with the Bulldogs, Rothenberger, a defensive specialist, played in 73 sets and recorded 149 digs. Her average of 2.04 digs per set ranked third on the team. After a very pandemic-altered junior season, Rothenberger said she was happy that her final season as a Bulldog was much more normal and enjoyable..
“I think it was kind of cool to be able to end on that note,” she said.
As she prepares to say goodbye to UGA and Athens, Rothenberger said there is part of her that, when fall rolls around, expects “to be back here even though I’m going to be in a completely different city and state.” As she prepared for her final collegiate exam on Tuesday, Rothenberger said she had to force herself to think about the task at hand and not what it represented.
“I tried to push out all that sentimental mush and gush, just because I want to finish real quick, and we can save that for later,” she said.
It’s now time for the mush and gush, to celebrate all she’s achieved and all the amazing people she’s met and shared experiences with along the way.
Alexa Al-Hameed’s Georgia gymnastics career ended well before she wanted it to. Injuries forced her to medically retire from the sport after her freshman season, a disappointing turn of events, for sure, but she never let it negatively affect her college experience.
“I think in the beginning it was like, what do I do with my time? I don’t know what to do with myself,” she said. “But I’ve always been passionate about community service, so I really tried to thrust myself into that world, as well as getting involved with campus organizations. I used that to fill up my time, and I think the most important thing during that period of transition was finding something else that I was passionate about.
“Getting involved in those campus organizations and doing community service, I was forced to really discover my true passions and what my new purpose was in life.”
Al-Hameed is graduating this week with a degree in Real Estate and is going to work for Prudential Global Investment Management in Atlanta, where she’ll be working in commercial real estate investment analysis.
“It was definitely my dream job and felt like I worked really hard to get there,” she said. “Ultimately, The Georgia Way and (Director of Student Development Leigh Futch) were such a big help.
“When I got my first couple of job offers, I called Leigh and I was like, ‘I don’t know what to do?’ I don’t know which one.’ And she guided me through that process. A huge shoutout to her!”
A native of Ames, Iowa, Al-Hameed said being forced to give up gymnastics gave her a new appreciation for the impact that the GymDogs have on their fans, young and old.
“When you’re in the middle of all of it, it’s just like, this is something I do and it’s something I love and it’s been a part of my life forever,” she said. “You don’t necessarily see all of the fans in the stands or the little girls who are looking up to you, until you step away and I would go back to the meets. … It really opens your eyes to the fact that you were a role model for all of these people and how much of an honor and privilege it is to represent the ‘G’.
“I think that was probably the biggest revelation I had once I stopped. It made me appreciate my time even more.”
Jacqui Switzer is already hard at work in her new career.
Few Georgia softball players have demonstrated the determination and drive that she did during her injury-riddled and injury-shortened career, and Switzer said she’s applying that drive to her new job as a patient care representative for Rehab Medical, a mobility equipment provider in Atlanta.
“My time at Georgia has made me stronger, to know that when trials and tribulations hit, it’s not a mindset of victimization, it’s a mindset of, what do I do now? How can I learn and grow from this?” said Switzer, who started her collegiate career at Florida before transferring to Georgia.
“Everything that I’ve been through, I look at it as a learning experience, and I wouldn’t change it for the world even though things did not go as planned.”
After earning an undergraduate degree in Communications Studies in 2020, Switzer this weekend is receiving her Master’s degree in Public Administration. Shoulder and knee injuries derailed her playing career, but those experiences helped her find what she wanted to do after college.
“I have always loved the medical field and I’ve always loved how the body worked and why things happened,” she said. “To be able to be a part of an industry where I can give back and I can help, giving people the ability to go about their lives again, I think that is really cool.”
The competitive fire that fueled her repeated efforts to come back from injuries to play again is now being directed toward her job in sales.
“My job is based on points, it’s based on numbers, so you can know exactly how well you’re doing,” she said. “It’s like a statistics thing, knowing your batting average and why you’re not doing well.”
Down the road, Switzer said she’d like to be working for a big medical device company, working in the operating room alongside the doctors.
“It’s something that I really want to do,” she said. “I want to specifically work with joints because I had shoulder surgeries and knee surgeries, so the joints hit home to me. To be able to give people the ability to walk again and live normally again, with knees that have been hurting them for a long time, that really hits home.”
