Buff & Blue Forever: Alessandra Ponce
4/28/2022 11:30:00 AM | Softball, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
A graduate student from Henderson, Nev., Alessandra Ponce is a four-time All-Conference honoree who piled up 222 hits, 167 RBIs and 89 extra-base hits, including a program-record 59 doubles, over five seasons with GW softball. Nearing the end of her decorated run, she took a look back in the first installment of our Buff & Blue Forever series.
What a privilege it has been to Raise High for the Buff and Blue. I never could have imagined competing and learning in the World’s Most Powerful City would end up looking like this.
I want to first thank my family, team and all the staff at GW who have been there every step of the way through my time here. I have become a better person, leader, competitor and teammate because there were always people to help me through every low and to celebrate all the wins.
Being a student-athlete at this university has been one of the greatest joys; I can happily hang up my cleats knowing I got to do it all.
The softball team’s culture is something I had never quite experienced before. The special bond I have formed with all of my teammates over these five years has contributed to defining moments in all aspects of my life.
I have gotten to travel and compete at the highest level with 19 of my best friends. It is very rare that you get to love what you do while being surrounded by people who genuinely care for each other and push one another to be the best versions of themselves.
Some of my favorite memories are from bus rides, pre-game rituals, post-practice meals, and exploring the city as a team. The big wins and the championships are great memories and accomplishments, but the lifelong friends that I have gained through GW are what I am the most grateful for.
This incredible camaraderie carried us through the 2021 season in which we were A-10 regular-season and tournament champions and made our first-ever NCAA appearance. Everything seemed to go perfectly for us, and it was truly like playing with one heartbeat.
I remember the dogpile after the final out of the championship game so clearly. I was surrounded by my teammates quite literally, and it almost felt surreal. I remember thinking not only have we accomplished this goal we spent years building up to but how I did not want this feeling to end.
At that moment, I was on top of the world with my best friends. That feeling is something you wish you could bottle up and take with you because it is hard to recreate and you know it just won’t ever be exactly like that again.
Getting to represent the Buff and Blue has meant endless opportunities and adventures. GW has embraced and encouraged every part of me, providing an avenue for all my passions from academics to athletics as well as my faith and outlets to serve the D.C. community.
Along the way, I've learned from former Secret Service agents and federal prosecutors, gotten a library card to study in the Library of Congress and taken exclusive tours of the Capitol from teammates who intern on the hill. During one winter break, I even traveled to Puerto Rico to learn sustainable farm-to-table practices.
The only at GW mantra is so unique because to outsiders, they think it means the location, but to those who get to experience GW, we know it extends way beyond that. I cannot wait to continue the standard of Raising Higher in this next chapter of my life.
#9 Signing Off,
Alessandra Ponce