George Washington University Athletics
Always a Colonial
6/14/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
By Eric Detweiler, GW Athletics Communications
Growing up in Arizona, Chelsea Lenhart focused her college softball dreams close to home.With plenty of options within driving distance, the outfielder never imagined leaving the region, much less finding a fit more than 2,000 miles away.
For Lenhart, the invitation to make a recruiting visit to George Washington was a thrill. The trip to Foggy Bottom in December 2009 was an eye-opener.
"Every single person was all about this idea of `We're a community,'" Lenhart remembered. "Everybody really, really cared about the student-athletes. Not just their performance on the field but also how they do in the classroom, what they do in the community volunteering.
"Everything about the GW athletics message appealed to me. I wasn't hearing that at other universities."
Eight-plus years and two GW degrees later, Lenhart is Buff & Blue through and through.
After an undergraduate career that included three seasons with the Colonials and finished with a degree in International Affairs with a focus on Security Policy, she continued her education as a Presidential Administrative Fellow on the way to a Master of Public Administration in 2016.
On July 1, Lenhart officially begins a four-year term as a recent alumni trustee on the GW Board of Trustees. The 26-year-old's experience at the university helped her land a dream job as an investigator for the U.S. Department of Transportation, and she views the role on the Board as an opportunity to help others find the same support system that has made such a difference in her life.
"I don't think I would've gotten that anywhere else," Lenhart said. "So now that I'm fully an alum and outside the university, I just want to figure out a way that I can keep giving so that those same opportunities exist for future students."
Lenhart joins fellow GW athletics alum Ave Tucker (B.B.A. '77, baseball) on the Board of Trustees.
"We're so proud of Chelsea," GW Director of Athletics and Recreation Tanya Vogel said. "She is a tremendous representative of GW Athletics and our university. Her experience as a student-athlete will provide her a unique perspective as she joins the Board of Trustees for the next four years."
As a student-athlete, Lenhart worked hard to make the most of her time on campus.
On the softball field, Lenhart started all 147 games in the outfield over her first three seasons with the Colonials before a shoulder injury cut short her collegiate career. She made the A-10 All-Rookie Team in 2011 and finished her career among GW's all-time top 10 in 12 different categories. Her 27 doubles still rank ninth in program history.
Lenhart's steady production helped lift the program. She joined a squad that had won six games in 2010 and helped bump that victory total to 16 in 2011, 25 in 2012 and a then-record 27 in 2013. The 2012 Colonials advanced to the A-10 Championship final for the first time in program history.
Looking back, Lenhart credits that close-knit group for easing her transition far from home and spurring her to keep chasing bigger goals, on and off the field.
"For me, it meant so much to be a part of the team," Lenhart said. "We had successes on the field that were amazing. It was so much fun to put up a winning a season, to go to the A-10 tournament, to really compete in the conference with that group of girls, but I can also really appreciate all the times off the field and all those moments that we were there for each other through everybody's achievements and especially when people were falling on hard times."
All the while, Lenhart was laying the groundwork for a bright future. She was named an NFCA Scholar Athlete and picked to the A-10 All-Academic Team for her performance in the classroom. Her job as a resident assistant helped her form additional relationships across campus, as well.
She used that well-rounded resume to earn a spot in GW's Presidential Administration Fellowship (PAF) program, which offers work-study opportunities for high-achieving graduates to serve as ambassadors of the university.
While pursuing her Master's degree, Lenhart was placed in GW's Office of Safety and Security, where her time under Darrell Darnell and Mary Paradis helped spark her interest in pursuing a career in law enforcement.
"This university did so much for me over the six years -- and really still does as an alum," Lenhart said. "There are so many people who have really done so much to help me."
These days, Lenhart is using those skills to help others working in the federal government. An internship as an auditor at the U.S. Department of Transportation led to an opportunity in its investigations unit.
She's responsible for conducting investigations into allegations of fraud, waste and abuse covering forms of travel via the air, ground and water. Cases could range from an intoxicated commercial pilot to billion-dollar contracting grant fraud, she said.
Lenhart said her softball background provided good preparation for the physical and mental rigors of a career that keeps her on her toes.
"I think that has really, really helped," Lenhart said. "Athletics teaches you how to really kind of persevere through any type of challenges or frustrations or adversity. That's a trait that's needed in this job. You meet a lot of people. You talk to a lot of people. Some of those conversations are very complicated, and the ability to kind of sift through it and keep plugging away is very much needed in this job."
Despite an often hectic schedule, Lenhart has made time to stay involved at GW, including volunteering with the PAF program and as a mentor for current students.
Connor James, a junior on the cross country/track and field team, was paired with Lenhart through GW's Student-Athlete Mentorship Program. He's appreciated help with his resume and advice as he works toward a degree in Political Science and Peace Studies and looks ahead to his future.
"It's been amazing," James said. "Just to be able to have somebody who has been through the same types of things and has gone through the process of trying to find a job and do all these other things on top of being a student-athlete has definitely been a huge help."
Lenhart couldn't pass up the chance to serve her alma mater on the Board of Trustees. Once, Foggy Bottom seemed so far away. Now, it's home.
She heard about the opportunity while traveling in Hungary last fall. Upon returning home, she sent in an application with her resume and some thoughts on the campus initiatives most important to her.
Lenhart was among the candidates for the position of recent alumni trustee proposed by the Alumni Association Board before being nominated by the Board of Trustees Committee on Governance and Nominations. She was elected to a four-year term by the Board of Trustees at their meeting on May 18.
"I'm coming on in such an overall exciting time for the university," said Lenhart, who will participate in the Board's annual retreat later this month. "With the new President and a lot of new leadership, I think it's a wonderful time to be a new Board member. President LeBlanc has made it very clear what he wants the university to aspire to, and I find that goal to be definitely worthwhile. I'm excited to get started."
