2025 FAN Scholarship Essay by Hailee Adams

Name: Hailee Adams
State: Pennsylvania
High School: Warwick High School
College: Saint Francis University 

Field hockey has changed my life in many ways.

Ever since I picked up my first stick I have become a better person on and off the field. Field hockey has taught me many lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

It takes a lot of discipline and responsibility to become an athlete. The real athletes that are the most successful are the ones that always put in the extra effort not just on the field.

It is the athletes that work the hardest in the classroom and in their lives to be a better person. My training athletically has given me a lot of discipline when it comes to my studies in school.

I am always on top of my schoolwork because I know that I have a busy schedule that I have to manage and school comes before all of it.

At the end of the day, how well I do in school to manage my time ultimately comes from playing hockey. Being an athlete comes with many responsibilities.

Some responsibilities are making sure to manage time well. This translates over to my everyday life because I have to manage a lot of different things at once.

Another responsibility is taking accountability for my actions. This is something that comes up in my everyday life because everyone makes mistakes. It is the stronger people that take responsibility for their actions and own up to their mistakes.

People gain more respect for you when you are able to willingly own up to your own mistakes to learn for the future. These responsibilities help me become a better athlete and person every single day.

I feel as though field hockey has helped me grow as a person not just as a player. It has taught me so many life lessons that will translate into the life that I continue to live everyday.

I am able to work towards my overall goals because of the lessons and opportunities field hockey has given me. I was given the opportunity to continue my academic and athletic career at Saint Francis University.

This has been a complete life changing experience because there was a time that I did not even think that playing field hockey in college would be possible. I had torn my meniscus my junior season and got surgery to repair it later in the spring of last year.

This was prime time for recruiting and I could not play. It became very frustrating and difficult.

I thought that there was going to be no chance of me playing. I still took things into my own hands and created a film to send to colleges since they could not see me play at the moment.

I took something very negative and made it a positive because this was something that I wanted more than anything ever. It took a lot of discipline and determination to get back to playing the sport that I love more than anything.

I had my surgery in March of 2024 and my first game back was October 2024. This was the hard work that I had put in rehabbing and strengthening my knee.

It was a very hard thing to overcome but I had done it and it became an even more unforgettable season because all of my work had paid off. I believe that I was able to recover and get back to playing as fast as I did because of this amazing sport teaching me the discipline and determination it takes to be an athlete.

Being an athlete is not always easy or glorious at times and having this happen to me made it that much clearer. Being on the sidelines gave me an even bigger appreciation for the game.

It just showed me how much I truly love the game of field hockey and how big of a part it has in my life. I don’t think I would be the person I am today without field hockey in my life.

It has created so many amazing memories and life lessons that I will never forget. Field hockey has taught me so many things that have made me a better person on and off of the field and for that I will forever be grateful for this sport.

This post was written by Hailee Adams. She is participating in the 2025 Dr. Judith Benscoter Female Athlete Scholarship contest. You may also vote for her video on our Instagram account @female_athlete_news

The scholarship winner will be determined by most votes (likes) on their Instagram video and the most votes cast on the candidate’s essay writing.

Voting runs from March 13-16. Winners will be announced March 17.