Senior Spotlight: Pennington’s Harper Usiskin
As the spring sports season has been canceled, The Trentonian continues to recognize the girls lacrosse seniors that were denied their final season.
Harper Usiskin is a three-sport athlete at the Pennington School excelling in cross country, swimming and girls lacrosse. A gifted athlete, Usiskin always was looking to improve as a runner, a swimmer, a player and as a person when she played sports. A dedicated teammate always committed to making the team better.
Here are some of Harper’s thoughts on the season and life. JO’G » What were your thoughts when the season was shut down? HU» It was hard at first, I knew a lot of things were going to change even if we went back in April. However, I wanted to stay positive even in spite of all of the shifts that are taking place in the world. I held out hope and continued to practice and train every day. The season was up in the air for a while but when it was canceled permanently it was heartbreaking, many of my lacrosse teammates I have become extremely close with over the years and was excited to spend one more season with them. JO’G » What were your hopes and expectations for this season?
HU » Last season was hard for me, I did not perform in games as well as I would have liked. It was hard for me to have fun playing the game I once loved, as I was confronted with insecurity on the field so I struggled to use the skills I knew I had. I wanted to make this season more about learning to love the sport of lacrosse again and bond with my teammates. I went into the preseason with no expectations good or bad of what the season would entail personally but rather the attitude that I had to make the most of every minute on and off the field for myself and my teammates. JO’G » What life lessons have you learned from this pandemic?
HU » Patience is important, hoping that things change does not make any of it go any faster, we have to be able to move forward in the face of adversity. I have learned that some time away can help see the bigger picture.
JO’G » What are your plans for the fall and are you excited for this new opportunity?
HU » I will be attending the University of Wisconsin—Madison in the fall studying to major in biochemistry. I will also be participating in Naval ROTC on campus where I will begin to see my dreams of being in the United States Navy come to light. I am excited to be moving on and taking on this new challenge in my life. I look forward to both the answers and hardships it will entail because I know each new experience builds me into who I am going to be.
JO’G » You run cross country, are an accomplished swimmer and a lacrosse player; which do you enjoy more?
HU» I was raised in a family that valued athletics as a skill that can follow you throughout your life. I have been running, swimming, and playing lacrosse among other sports for most of life and I loved the therapeutic aspect as well as the personal growth they showed me I could endure, but sports at Pennington showed me a different side of what athletics can be. I can thank Coach Ward and Coach Ritter who taught me that an individual is only as strong as their weakest link, we have to learn to build up everyone on the team to accomplish a goal. I thank Coach Morris for teaching me to fight for everything I have earned.
However, out of all the teams I have been a part of the Swim Team has been the most influential for me because I learned that athletics can be more than a group of people; they can become your family.
JO’G » What is your favorite Pennington School moment?
HU» I had a lot of experiences at Pennington but some of the most memorable was with my athletic teams on campus. In my sophomore year, the Girls Cross Country Team was able to win a State Championship title for the first time in a long time. Although winning was a rewarding experience, finishing the race stride for stride beside a teammate who I can now call my sister, Heather Holley, was a truly bonding moment. Although winning is not everything, the devastation of the 1.5 point loss at the Swimming State Championships in 2019 was something I will remember fondly because of the resilience and love the team created for each other. Redemption came this year as the Girls team clinched the title of State Champions with the most points in Prep B and Prep A, it gave a purpose to all the hardship we endured the last season and was more rewarding than any trophy.
JO’G » If you were asked to give a speech at graduation what would the message be?
HU » As I look back remembering everything that has happened that has led me to graduate from high school and moving on to college, I invite you to look at yourself as I did and see the person that is standing there; don’t just see the person that laughed with their friends in the student center, trenched their way up the yen stairs, cheered with all your might for our birdcage, maybe won a state title, or all the moments in between you shared with Instagram; see the person that looks back at you, the one that is so different from the place they were 4 years ago or maybe you are no different at all. Think about everything you have been through, the things that shielded you, and everything that stripped you of that shield. Because today as I move on to a new chapter in my life, and I see myself as a new truth. Proof that from the shallow ignorance we once found shelter in and the hardships that it helped strip away, lies a power we never knew we had and continues to mature every day.
JO’G » What is the one thing the world needs to know about Harper Usiskin?
HU» I have encountered a lot of adversity in my life, and I have learned that through these experiences we cannot fall but rather rise to become better leaders, teammates, and people. Because we cannot let those moments of hardship define us, instead it is how we use these experiences to help us grow that should be remembered.