Reflection

Since I am a member of the Trinity Women’s Tennis Team, I really enjoyed getting to learn more about the women’s tennis program and all of the deep history and traditions it has. I really enjoyed getting to interview Gretchen, Lisa, and Elvyn and hearing about their experiences on the women’s team and all of their outstanding accomplishments. In addition, I also really liked getting to go into the archives and look at pictures of the team and individuals on the team. It is so interesting to me to see how much tennis has changed over the past years, and how different the program is today in comparison to back then.

I was really surprised at home much rich history the women’s tennis team has and what they have done for Trinity Athletics. It was really interesting for me to see how much history Trinity has on the women’s tennis team and specific players. All of the documents and pictures I looked at were very cool and something that I did not even know Trinity had. Furthermore, I was also surprised about how many traditions the women’s tennis team had in the 1980’s, and that some of those traditions are still carried on today.

The most challenging aspect of the project was getting into contact with the right people so I was able to get good knowledge and information about the women’s tennis team. In addition, it was also very difficult to find things in the archives that related specifically to the team during this time, but I was able to find some pictures and relate them in a way I saw fit. Furthermore, in the beginning, I struggled with knowing what story I was going to tell about my project. However, after taking a step back and gathering all of my information from my interviews and research, I was able to come up with an inspirational story that highlights the success of an outstanding team.

If I could start over, I would just focus on one year instead of four years. In addition, I might even focus on a specific tennis match they played in the 1980’s. Since the women’s tennis team at this time had so many accomplishments and such rich history, it probably would have been easier for me if I focused on one season. As a result, I might have been able to be more detailed with some of my information.

 

I learned that the historical process is never ending. There is always information to be discovered and uncovered. Even though you see something on the surface level, there is so much more to be known about it. When it comes to history, you are always constantly learning about your topic and at times other subjects as well. In addition, this project confirmed that you have to have great communication skills to get the best information. For me, it was really important that I asked the right questions and specific questions, so I could get the best information about my topic and all of the information I needed to answer my research questions.

I am currently a Communications and Human Communications major at Trinity, and really value and understand the need for effective communication. However, even though I am majoring in these fields, I am always looking to improve my interpersonal communication skills throughout all aspects of life. This project really helped me to grow my communication skills through the interviews I conducted. It helped me grow them on both an interpersonal and professional level, and I will definitely take away these skills with me.