Making Strides

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When we first met, my non-sports-spectating husband was surprised to learn that I’ve long been an avid NCAA basketball fan. Every year, I gear up to watch March Madness. It started in eighth grade when a few close friends introduced me to the tournament. I filled out a bracket, made some totally uninformed but lucky choices, and won — much to the chagrin of my more knowledgeable friends. I never did win again, but no matter, what really got me hooked was the element of unpredictability. While there are certainly teams that tend to dominate, you can never anticipate the upsets. The underdog can always make the next round or come out on top. Every game offers a potential plot twist.

   This year, I found myself glued to the women’s NCAA basketball tournament. I didn’t only watch the games, I consumed articles on players like Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, LSU’s Angel Reese, and of course, Columbia’s Abbey Hsu. These stories weren’t designed for stats-oriented sports fans — which I am definitely not — but for readers who are interested in understanding people at their core and how sports have played an essential role in their personal narratives. What were their motivations? The obstacles they had to overcome? The lessons they came away with? 

Our Athletics Issue intends to do just that — tell the stories of our student and alumnae athletes. And the timing worked out well. This year, the Columbia Lions women’s basketball team had a record-breaking season. With four Barnard players on the roster, they won their second straight Ivy League regular season title and made it to “the Big Dance,” the NCAA Tournament. Writer Anne Stein details how Barnard players — thanks to the Columbia-Barnard Athletic Consortium — have helped to make the Lions such a powerhouse team. 

With just a few months until the Olympic Games in Paris, we share the journeys of two alumnae athletes who’ve been working hard for their chance to compete on this international stage — coincidence or not, both of them happen to be New Yorkers, one raised in Queens and the other in Brooklyn. 

Bangladeshi American boxer Zinnat Ferdous ’16, who graces our cover, discovered the sport after college, and in just a short time, has already made a name for herself in the boxing world. In addition to her full-time job at Google, Ferdous is training for upcoming matches in hopes of qualifying for the Olympics. We also spoke with national champion fencer Anne Cebula ’20 about fulfilling her lifelong dream of going to the Olympics. In March, Cebula was selected to the U.S. Olympic Team in women’s epee.

For both athletes, it wasn’t an easy or straight path to their success. It has taken intense training, dedication, and dogged persistence to arrive at this moment. They’ve had to advocate for themselves, convince family members, and commit time and money to their training and pursuits. 

The stories in this issue are about defying expectations and taking risks, whether it’s being a first-generation American woman boxer vying for Bangladesh’s first Olympic medal or a young fencer who fought tooth and nail to be the best in her sport, despite financial hurdles and a global pandemic. These are stories about the human experience, albeit awe-inspiring and extraordinary. I’ll definitely be tuning into the Olympics and rooting the athletes on.