8/7/2018 11:49:00 AM | Women's Basketball, Student Athlete, Features
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By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
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So many factors lead to athletic success, from raw athletic skills to intangibles such as leadership and making connections with teammates.
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Those words describe the core of Hailey Pascoe and Hannah Hedstrom, not only as basketball players, but most importantly, people.
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Whether they're on a basketball team or a medical care team, Pascoe and Hedstrom have displayed their talents – both for the Lehigh women's basketball program, and this summer, in the medical field.
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The experiences were different, but there are commonalities. This summer, Pascoe volunteered at St. Luke's Hospital while Hedstrom interned with the Lehigh Valley Health Network. Both were opportunities to learn about themselves off the court (which will help in the present), while also helping guide post-graduate aspirations (which will help in the future).
 Hailey Pascoe
A rising senior, Pascoe volunteered approximately eight hours per week at St. Luke's, which features numerous Lehigh connections.
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"Recent graduate Mae Williams has volunteered with St. Luke's before and she told me about the experience," said Pascoe. "I want to get into a career in nursing, so I contacted the hospital. I also had an adjunct professor this past year who is a doctor at St. Luke's. I applied to volunteer and work on patient floors, which I did all summer."
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Through her first three years at Lehigh, Pascoe has learned about herself, eventually landing as a double major in psychology and health, medicine and society. Â
"My aunt was an ER nurse for 25 years and she really loved it," said Pascoe. "I also really enjoy helping people. I've always wanted to go into a profession where I can make a difference."
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Pascoe made a difference at St. Luke's, even if just in the smallest of ways.
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"I worked on the patient floors and my job was to make sure the supplies the patient needs (like shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes) were stocked," she said. "Then, I went around and saw if the patient needed me to get a nurse for them, if they needed water, if they needed a snack, blankets or anything like that."
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Pascoe made connections, something she has done on the basketball court as well. It's an attribute that will pay dividends in all aspects of life.
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"Hailey has a caring and compassionate side to her that allows her to effectively connect with people to bring out their best," said Lehigh head coach Sue Troyan. "These traits will be a great asset to her as she enters the medical field in a profession that relies heavily on patient care and interaction."
 Hannah Hedstrom
Meanwhile, Hedstrom was a member of the Research Scholar program within the Lehigh Valley Health Network. As part of the program, different projects were posted for undergraduate students to work on.
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"There were nonclinical and clinical research projects," said Hedstrom, a rising junior. "I was in a nonclinical project, but it was a bit of a blend. I did research for my mentor, Michelle Hartzell, who is president of the APC Council Executive Council at Lehigh Valley Health Network, which stands for Advanced Practice Clinicians."
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Specifically, Hedstrom worked with one other research scholar on a quality improvement project for the APCs within the network.
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"My project was about onboarding and new hires," said Hedstrom, a biology and health, medicine and society major. "We created a resource page for those just coming out of PA (physician's assistant) school. If someone is hired in family medicine, here are the top 10 things they're going to see and here is a review of the textbook literature."
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Hedstrom worked this summer to create these resources.
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"If I got an example of chest pain, I looked through all the textbooks online and laid out the symptoms, testing and medications," said Hedstrom. "Once a week, we met at the Department of Education with the entire cohort of other research scholars for information sessions on applying to medical school, doing presentations and how to use different data analytics."
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Hedstrom's program focused on research, but it included more aspects that will help in her future.
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"Usually one or two times a week, my mentor set up times to shadow different clinicians, including the emergency room and surgery," said Hedstrom.
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The shadowing experience came at St. Luke's Hospital.
Hedstrom at her Aug. 3 presentation
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"Being able to shadow was an added bonus," said Hedstrom. "The day-to-day work for my project was done remotely. Some of the other research scholars were there in person, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It depended on what your mentor needed.
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"Everything worked up to a project summary that we wrote," Hedstrom continued. "On August 3, we had a judging of our poster presentation. Part of it was open to the public part where people came and learned about what we had been doing."
 Growing Into Their Interests
Neither Pascoe nor Hedstrom entered Lehigh knowing what they wanted to do.
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"I actually originally came into Lehigh as a business student and then after the first semester, figured out it wasn't my calling," said Pascoe. "I started taking psychology classes and taking some of the health, medicine and society classes, but by the end of freshman year, I knew nursing was the direction I wanted to go.
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"I knew I wanted to go into the medical field, but I wanted that work-life balance, with the ability to do shift work. I knew I would have to go to school after graduation, but being able to do a 12 to 18 month program is a lot more feasible for me than trying to do four to five years."
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Similarly, Hedstrom found herself drawn into the medical field.
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"I tried a business class in high school and didn't like it," she said. "I came in freshman year in engineering, but didn't feel passionate about it either. Health, medicine and society classes piqued my interest. I come from a family of educators, so I realized I wanted to be helping people, working with people and working for others."
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Hedstrom's general aspirations became more firm this summer.
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"This opportunity has been critical for Hannah, giving her clear direction as to what she wants to pursue in her career," said Troyan. "This clarity and focus will be very helpful as she focuses her academic attention on areas critical to this career path."
 Summer Takeaways
It should be no surprise that Pascoe and Hedstrom are both interested in the medical field. Their experience with the Lehigh women's basketball program has carried over into other areas.
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"Hailey and Hannah are two high-achieving, intelligent and motivated student-athletes who have the ability to be very successful in many professional areas," said Troyan. "I believe their passion for a profession that allows them to impact people and make a difference in their lives has drawn them to the medical field. They are both outstanding leaders in our program who know how to deal with problems in a team setting and figure out solutions."
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In the end, this summer has helped reaffirm for both that they've found their calling.
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"I have definitely gained perspective," said Pascoe. "The best thing this volunteer work has given me is the experience working with patients, trying to make people's days better and trying to serve them in any way possible. You're dealing with people who are often struggling or really sick. Learning how to have those interactions in an appropriate way, and a way that's effective, has been the biggest piece I've learned."
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If Pascoe could master interacting with people in a more uncomfortable situation, such as in a hospital, it should only pay dividends on the basketball court, academically and in her experiences post-graduation.
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"Hailey's experiences have taught her the importance of utilizing her self-awareness to understand how to deal with different types of people and personalities. It has also reinforced the importance of putting others before yourself in your service to them," said Troyan. "Hailey's experiences have reinforced a lot of the core values that our program, and department leadership program, emphasize in their programming." Â
Hedstrom has taken plenty from her summer as well. A point guard and leader on the floor, she has gained a broad overview of the medical field, affirming that she wants to be a doctor (the leader of a medical team).
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"When I've been doing all the research this summer, I've been learning about the medicine," said Hedstrom. "I learned about topics and learned that I want to know more. Coming from a background of a point guard and being a leader on the court, I've realized I want to be the leader in the team of health care workers…
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"The doctor has that role."
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Hedstrom's experience has also added important perspective about the importance of team.
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As she said, "I didn't realize how team oriented health care is, trying to coordinate care between patients and their families, but then the doctors, nurses, physicians assistants, case workers, social workers, etc. You're trying to make sure you're fitting the best plan for the person, customizing what would work best on a case-by-case basis. I like that problem-solving aspect, which is exciting, and it's something I can't wait to learn more about."
 Endless Opportunities
Both Pascoe and Hedstrom are appreciative of the opportunities Lehigh provides. Both were able to work at a place just miles down the road, all while still being with their teammates who were on campus during the second summer session. Â
"The relationship that our university has with local industries in the Lehigh Valley is an important resource that we encourage all our student-athletes to utilize," said Troyan.
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There are so many health networks and resources in the area, including St. Luke's, Coordinated Health and Lehigh Valley Health Network. For those not interested in medicine, Lehigh provides endless other opportunities for internships in other fields, studying abroad, interning abroad and more. Just this summer, four teammates of Pascoe and Hedstrom interned in Prague.
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"Because Lehigh is such an academically-focused school, they also recognize the importance of getting those kinds of experiences, whether it's volunteer work, an internship or whatever it may be," said Pascoe.
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Everything ties back to the Lehigh student-athlete experience. As the Patriot League motto says, Today's Scholar-Athletes, Tomorrow's Leaders.
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"I believe that opportunities like these are fundamental parts of our student-athletes' undergraduate experience in terms of preparing them for their futures and helping them grow and develop in their roles within our program," said Troyan. "Throughout the academic year, we challenge our students to balance a lot of responsibilities on their plates. I believe the summer is also an important time for personal development. It's the largest span of time when they can develop their athleticism and skills (strength, speed, conditioning and skills), so we don't want to minimize its importance.
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"The summer is also a critical time where students can begin to develop a sense for what they want to do in their careers," Troyan continued. "Experiences like Hailey's and Hannah's are critical to the exploration process where they can begin to figure this out."
 
 
 
