Lehigh University Athletics
Aloha means goodbye
3/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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By Maxie McCoy ‘09
After playing five years with Lehigh Basketball, Claire Sullivan has traveled a long road. But it is this road that has led her through incredible experiences and prepared her for a bright future.
Sullivan, a three-year captain, will leave her basketball family and the Lehigh community in May to take part in the Teach for
“I had never considered teaching as a career,” Sullivan said. “But having really explored social justice issues through my masters in political science, it’s a travesty that we live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world and have one of the worst educational systems.”
Sullivan is excited about the challenge because it will be a completely new environment. Although it may be one of the hardest things she ever does, Sullivan says she knows that her past five years at Lehigh have prepared her well for the challenge.
“Being here five years and being in a leadership role for the majority of the time, I’ve become much more aware of what other people need from me,” Sullivan said. “I know that I’ll be new at teaching, but being on a team shows you how to be humble and rely on others, knowing they will help you.”
Sullivan is the first three-year captain in Lehigh women’s basketball history. She took the reigns as a junior in the 2006-07 season, but suffered a season-ending knee injury that forced her to become a leader on the bench. Two years later, Sullivan is back to full strength, giving the Patriot League Champions 19.5 minutes per game off the bench, and ranking 19th in the nation with a 1.94 assist to turnover ratio.
Sullivan has also managed to succeed as a leader in the classroom, posting a 3.78 GPA as a political science major in her four years of undergraduate studies. She earned her bachelor’s degree last May, and is now completing a master’s degree in her fifth year at Lehigh.
Lehigh women’s basketball coach Sue Troyan, who has been a coach at Lehigh for 21 years – 14 years as the head basketball coach – describes Sullivan as one of the best leaders she’s ever had.
“She always puts the team in front of herself,” Troyan said. “She is always looking out for others’ interests. She is bright, articulate and a great role model. She has a tremendous amount to offer these young kids.”
Although Sullivan will be new to teaching, she is not new to living in a completely foreign place. Last summer she spent six weeks in
One day she was cutting through a shopping center to head back to her apartment, and someone pulled on the Lehigh Basketball backpack that she was wearing. She whipped around and saw a large man who asked her if she played basketball in
The chance meeting turned into a growing opportunity, one that she said prepared her for things to come in
“It was an amazing chance to meet people and gain some perspective,” Sullivan said. “I realized even when you travel, people are people. If you are nice and friendly and engage them, it doesn’t matter what the circumstance is. You will find your way.”
The journey isn’t over yet for Sullivan, because will have one last chance to make an even bigger mark in Lehigh basketball history. She’s already won a Patriot League Championship and there’s at least one more game left on the schedule when the Mountain Hawks take on
“That is the legacy I want to leave,” Sullivan said. “To establish this program as the premier program in the Patriot League.”
