The 2021 Senior Perspectives is the 16th in a series of annual collections. Senior captains and representatives of teams at Harvard have been invited to contribute viewpoints based on personal experience from both their senior seasons and full varsity careers at Harvard.
Sammy Murrell
Hometown: Invercargill, New Zealand
Concentration: Neuroscience
House Affiliation: Winthrop
For me, the most exciting part of any soccer game is the last 10 minutes. Even though the result can boil down to a single moment, maybe a defending slip-up or a 30-yard screamer, more often than not the outcome is a reflection of the first 80 minutes of hard work. I had planned to approach my senior season the same way I would the last 10 minutes of a game; to leave everything I had left out on the field.
After struggling through snowball effect injuries and dealing with a lingering feeling of disappointment that I had not yet reached my full potential as an athlete, I was convinced that the final act of my Harvard soccer career would be the best one yet. Instead, I spent what would have been my last season in New Zealand, 9,000 miles away from campus. I dressed for games in the blue and gold colors of the team I'd played for before college instead of the crimson jersey that I had worn proudly for three seasons.
Remote student-athlete life presented many unexpected challenges. I would roll out of bed at 3:58 a.m. for the short commute to my 4 a.m. Zoom class. There were 2 a.m. office hours, problem sets due at 5 a.m., and 10 p.m. pre-class power naps. Balancing an erratic sleep schedule with soccer made for a difficult semester, but there were upsides too. I felt lucky to be in a country that prioritized the health of its people and brought the spread of Covid-19 under control. I got to spend more time with my family, which was unexpected, but much welcomed. Moreover, I learned first-hand that the bond of the Harvard women's soccer family stretches across oceans.
As an international student, the knowledge that I was creating the strongest friendships of my life half a world away from home had always been at the back of my mind. However, just as they had been when we were all together in the locker room, my teammates were there to lift me up when I needed it. Distance only deepened my gratitude for HWS, and I feel honored to have been part of such an incredible program.
The cancelation of our season felt a bit like the referee had signaled the end of a game with those last 10 minutes left on the clock. I could spend plenty of time wondering how they would have played out. Would I have done enough to get playing time? Would my class have won an Ivy Championship? There are innumerable what-ifs, but recently I have chosen to focus on the lessons of the past year; to never take a good thing for granted, and to appreciate the people in my life while I have the chance. I will never know what the scoreboard would have read after the final whistle, but I am so grateful for every minute that I got to spend on this team.
