Success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. I was never the most talented. I was never the smartest, but I was always willing to do the work. -Alison Quandt Westgate

We’re on the road this week! This interview with Alison Quandt Westgate was recorded at the Costello Athletic Center at UMASS Lowell www.goriverhawks.com soon after the school’s student-athletes arrived back on campus. Known to her friends and colleagues as “Q” Alison is a former women’s ice hockey champion and goalie coach. Off the ice, she’s made a career for herself working in college athletics, first at her alma mater #bostoncollege and now at UMASS/Lowell as the Associate Athletic Director for Student Athlete Excellence. A champion for women’s sports, she’s a true believer in the transforming power sports can have on a person. Born and raised just outside of Boston, Alison grew up in a household full of sports lovers. Pond hockey was the game of choice in her neighborhood full of boys, so they put her in goal. Scrappy by nature, Alison says the key ingredient to her early success as an athlete was fearlessness: “I wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty, to muck it up.” A stand-out player in high school, she was recruited by Boston College and skated with the women’s hockey team throughout her college experience, winning countless awards and being named the 2006 Beanpot Tournament’s outstanding goaltender. Her rich experience as an athlete has been a beacon for her philosophy as she guides student-athletes: “I lead by example,” says Alison. “I will never ask anyone to do something I would not do myself. I may not be very vocal about it, but you will see me walking the walk every day.” In her role at At UMASS/Lowell Alison oversees everything that touches a student athlete’s daily life. 37% of the school’s population are first-generation college students. “They grind,” says Alison. “They work for every single win and there is no replacement for hard work.” For 23 minutes of athletic inspiration, just hit that download button. #sports #womensicehockey #perseverence #studentathlete