Celebrating Excellence and Community
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Cameron Williams arrived at Miami an experienced grad transfer student from Michigan, her eyes set on making an impact on the basketball court and off it.
Maddie Scheier made more than a few visits to Coral Gables while her sister attended Miami and knew it had the potential to be the perfect fit for her, too, especially given the fact she’d knew she’d be competing at a high level as a cross country runner in the ACC.
And Aaliah Dawson wasn’t quite sure what to expect at Miami, coming from her native Australia. But during a visit to campus, she discovered she felt welcomed and comfortable at a place where she could see herself living and studying – even if something unexpected happened and she wouldn’t be able to compete as a rower, as she’d planned.
Their journeys to Miami are as varied as the sports in which they all compete, but on Sunday, at the University’s 11th Annual Celebration of Women’s Athletics, the three Hurricanes shared what it had meant to each of them to wear orange and green and how they each believed competing at Miami helped shape them into the people they are today.
Williams, Dawson and Scheier were among 11 student-athletes honored at Sunday’s event for their excellence in competition, in the classroom and in the community.
The group of honorees included Olivia Grønborg (golf), Tori Grambo (soccer), Gabriella Grissom (indoor track & field), Sanaa Hebron (outdoor track & field), Alexa Noel (tennis), Ariana Rodriguez (volleyball), Giulia Carvalho (swimming) and Chiara Pellacani (diving).
Among the honorees were two national champions – Noel and Pellacani – and a pair of Olympians – Pellacani and Rodriguez.
There were also All-ACC honorees in the group, All-ACC Academic selections, school record breakers and campus leaders, all of whom have found ways to make an impact.
“I felt completely humbled being in the presence of so much greatness,” said ESPN senior writer and ACC Network contributor Andrea Adelson, who served as the emcee for Sunday’s event and moderated a panel with Williams, Scheier and Dawson. “I always wanted to play sports. I always wanted to be an athlete, but I just wasn’t very good. That’s why I became a sportswriter. I wanted to write and elevate people and stories like the ones we saw in that room. To know and understand the hard work, dedication, perseverance, long nights that go into any athletic endeavor – let alone an athletic endeavor that has led to a Division I opportunity at the University of Miami – is truly worthy of celebration. …
“As a woman, I feel a responsibility to help elevate women’s sports and tell women’s stories. I have that opportunity at ESPN, and I will continue to look for those opportunities any way I can. As a mom of two daughters, to be in a room of so much greatness reminds me when I get home, I need to do my best to do elevate my daughters as well. We’re all part of this community together and we should all be raising and lifting each other up.”
And throughout Sunday’s event, it was clear the Hurricanes have been doing exactly that.
Williams highlighted how her new teammates welcomed her once she arrived on campus, while Dawson noted how supportive the rowing team is of each other and how essential it is that they work together on the water.
“I think that team aspect and community aspect is so important,” Scheier said during the student-athlete panel. “And here at Miami, it’s there. I feel like athletes from other teams, trainers, and coaches from other teams, everyone supports each other and it’s such a great community that’s so special to be part of.”
Added Williams, “Coming here shaped me in ways I did not know. I think our team, we faced some adversity that we didn’t think we would, and I think it helped each and every one of us grow in ways that we could have never imagined. And it brought us closer as a team. We learned a lot about ourselves, about our team and we’re continuing to grow day in and day out, even to this moment now. Our coaches, they poured into us.”
Williams and Dawson were among the Celebration of Women’s honorees who will be wrapping up their collegiate careers this year and on Sunday, both shared how grateful they were for all of the support they received during their time at Miami.
“I definitely feel like I have grown just as much as an athlete as I have as someone going into the career workforce,” Dawson said. “I feel like I’ve been able to develop myself in terms of my academics and also thinking about postgrad, more than I thought I would be able to. I really hope that I have left a legacy with my team. I absolutely love my team and being on such a big team – we’re almost 50 to 60 girls sometimes – I think when I’m applying to jobs, and they ask about ‘Have you ever been on a team? What’s an example of you being on a team or being a leader?’ I think who else, apart from people that have [had] this experience, can have such good examples? [Rowing] has just set me up in a way that I never expected.”
