When former Harvard women's rugby standout Cassidy Bargell '22 walked out onto the pitch at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, England, the Silverthorne, the Colorado native reached yet another landmark in a one-of-a-kind journey.
For the first time in her remarkable career, Bargell represented the United States at the Women's Rugby World Cup, signifying another incredible step in her day-to-day life following her battle with severe ulcerative colitis in 2021.
"I don't know if the feeling has fully sunk in yet," Bargell said. "You work and work to get selected and be in this position. When I started playing this sport, I always dreamed of playing for USA Rugby on this stage, in the country where rugby was originated. I'm excited to represent the culture that rugby has in America. Our team is full of the most incredible people with the most incredible stories and backgrounds, and I love that about us."
Bargell now lives and plays on the pitch with an ostomy bag. After battling through her recovery in the winter of 2021-22, Bargell returned to competition for the Crimson in the spring of 2022, pushing Harvard to a conference title in 7's competition. Her career with the Crimson saw Bargell elevate the level of Harvard rugby, leading Harvard to its first national championship in 2019.
During her time at Harvard, Bargell shared her remarkable story, most notably in a talk at TEDx Boston in 2022, hoping to provide inspiration and comfort to those going through the same recovery.
"At some point when the recovery after the surgeries was so hard, I wasn't thinking about rugby. I was thinking about tying my shoes, eating food and vegetables, I was thinking about being healthy," Bargell said. "Once I could do all of those things, rugby became the focus. I didn't have to try that hard to be motivated to get back on the pitch."
Following her graduation from Harvard in 2022, Bargell joined the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation as a data analyst, continuing to make an impact and empower patients around the world in pursuit of a cure and improved treatments. Bargell works with real world evidence and patient data to pursue those goals.
"It's an amazing foundation. We are looking at real patients through time and how medications affect them," Bargell said. "Being a part of an organization that researches and does the most they can for these patients is really rewarding."
With a monumental and tremendous landmark upon her, Bargell got the opportunity to reflect on amazing journey in both life and the sport she loves. A journey that has spanned high school rugby practices, to taking midterms in the hospital, and to championships in Cambridge.
"I think I became a whole person at Harvard," Bargell said. "I wasn't just an athlete who was just good enough at school to get into Harvard. I found a lot of different academic interests and that gave me an identity outside of rugby, so when I lost rugby when I was sick, I didn't lose everything. If I had been anywhere else, it wouldn't have been the same."
