5 senior all-star athletes share their stories
Life as a student-athlete is a balancing act of daily practices and weekly travel for games, on top of academics and socializing.
To do it successfully for four years takes determination, dedication and discipline.
With Commencement around the corner, five graduates who stood out — on the playing field and off — shared what made it work for them and what they are looking forward to in the future.
Finding focus and becoming a leader
Juliette Carreiro ’22, a double major in biology and psychology, has played soccer for as long as she can remember.
“I joined my first team at 4, but even before then I could be found playing soccer with my family,” said Carreiro.
During her four years at Brandeis she stacked her accomplishments inside the classroom and on the field.
In addition to being chosen as a 2021 All-American and Academic All-American athlete, award nominations given to a select number of student athletes from across the country, Carreiro held a 4.0 GPA throughout her four years at Brandeis. She contributes her success to her busy routine.
“Having a busy schedule kept me focused,” said Carreiro. “Being dedicated to both schoolwork and athletics — those two worked hand in hand in my success.”
After graduation and taking a gap year, Carreiro plans to enroll in medical school.
While she has one more course to complete in the fall to graduate, Carreiro will be walking at commencement this spring.
With the NCAA granting an additional year of eligibility to all Division III student-athletes who missed a season due to COVID-19, she will also get to complete one more season of soccer on campus.
She’s excited to play one final season, but is mostly looking forward to watching her teammates succeed in future games.
“I’ve known many of these players for almost five years now. As a captain this year, my goal was to get everyone motivated at every single game,” said Carreiro. “I’m really excited to continue to come back and see what the team can accomplish.”
Running a-cross countries
Erin Magill '22, a double major in linguistics and French and Francophone studies, started running when she was 9. She’s been in love with it ever since. She chose Brandeis because of its linguistics program, campus size and cross country team.
“I wanted to compete with a Division III team,” said Magill. “When researching schools I found that Brandeis had a team that ranked highly on national lists.”
During her time at Brandeis she balanced her school work with her dream — developing enough speed to make it to nationals.
“The seven fastest members of the team race at nationals,” said Magill. “During my first year at Brandeis I was the 8th. I got to travel to nationals, but I watched from the sidelines. After that it became a goal of mine to compete.”
As a senior she finally got the opportunity. She placed highly at cross country nationals, receiving All-American honors for finishing in the top 40 at the Division III national championships.
In addition to racing her way to nationals, Magill held a 4.0 GPA through her entire four years at Brandeis. Balancing coursework with athletics can be challenging, but something that Magill confidently pursued because of her passion for running.
“I can balance both academics and athletics because running is what I enjoy most in my everyday life. I look forward to going to practices and working towards my goal,” said Magill. “To me, I don’t consider running to be work.”
Upon graduation, Magill plans to teach English in France. There’s no doubt in her mind that running will remain part of her routine.
“I don’t see myself giving up running anytime soon,” she said.
Exceeding expectations and embracing a new chapter
Jolie Fujita '22, IBS MS '22, from Honolulu, Hawaii, will be finishing her Brandeis experience with an undergraduate degree in business and a master's degree in international finance and economics with a concentration in marketing.
She chose to attend Brandeis because of how welcoming the softball team was during her campus visit.
“I wanted to be close to Boston because it’s my mom’s favorite city,” said Fujita. “After meeting the team I knew I wanted to be here. I didn’t know what I wanted to major in, but I felt confident in my choice because of the options at Brandeis.”
Starting at shortstop, Fujita helped the team advance to the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in a decade. After advancing to regionals in 2019, the team returned again in 2021 as the first team in Brandeis history to return to compete in back-to-back seasons.
“It was amazing, exceeding everyone’s expectations,” said Fujiita. “I truly believe that we changed Brandeis softball forever by showing people we can be great.”
In addition to making history on the team, Fujita was selected to the All-University Athletic Association and received the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar-Athlete in 2021 because of her academic excellence. She found that her academics thrived during softball season.
“It’s really funny…a lot of us find we do better in school during the season,” said Fujita. “We had limited free time, so we had to maximize every second of the day. It kept us focused.”
After graduation, Fujita hopes to work in the advertising industry at Hill Holiday in Boston. She plans to continue playing recreational softball at a league this summer in Honolulu, but looks forward to exploring a new period of her life with different hobbies.
“Softball has been the core of my entire life,” she said. “Maybe I’ll become a boxer! Maybe I’ll try bungee jumping.”
Taking skills from the field
Mike Khoury ’21, Rabb MS'22, completed his undergraduate degree in American studies with a minor in business during the spring of 2021, but didn’t get the opportunity to participate in his final season of baseball. Like Carreiro, he took advantage of an additional year of eligibility due to COVID-19.
Khoury returned to Brandeis to work toward a master’s degree in project and program management from the graduate studies program while playing one final season on the men’s baseball team.
It was an impressive season. Khoury was selected as Division III National Hitter of the Week from the National College Baseball Writers Association in March. His biggest joy, however, was returning to the field with his teammates.
“Family is the biggest word that comes to mind when I think of the team,” said Khoury. “I’ve met some of my closest friends through baseball.”
Khoury hopes to work in the consulting industry after graduation. He isn’t sure if he’ll continue playing baseball, but he knows his skills translate beyond the field.
“Being a team player and managing a busy schedule has taught me skills I’ll take with me,” he said. “I know I’ll be prepared for any schedule in the professional world.”
Preparing for the future as a team player
Nolan Hagerty came to Brandeis to play basketball, but that was only part of the reason for the psychology and philosophy double major with a minor in legal studies.
“I chose Brandeis because I wanted to find one of the best psychology programs close to home,” said the Yarmouth, Maine, native. “I knew I wanted to be prepared for graduate school.”
Having played basketball since age 3, Hagerty joined the basketball team and quickly found it was his home away from home. The team spent time together on and off the court, playing intramural softball and studying together in their free time.
“We’re all very close,” he said. “We’re very competitive and serious on the court, but we are goofy everywhere else.”
He completed his basketball experience at Brandeis with an honorable mention All-UAA selection.
After graduation, Hagerty plans to spend a year working at a psychological hospital before applying to clinical psychology doctorate programs. His experience on the basketball team at Brandeis was helpful in his job interviews.
“I mentioned basketball multiple times during interviews for the roles I am applying for,” he said. “When you are on a team you have to learn to work together towards a common goal. Workplaces are definitely looking for people who are team players.”
Categories: Athletics, General, Student Life