Saturday marked the end of a journey for Brianna Grimes and the start of a new one.
There, on the artificial surface at Bishop Schmitt in Wheeling, did Grimes receive her degree and cap an exciting yet arduous four years at Wheeling (Jesuit) University.
It’s a journey that tested her physically, mentally, and even spiritually.
But it’s that Jesuit spirit that led Grimes to Wheeling and ultimately helped her decision to stay, despite the mass of uncertainty swirling about campus in 2018-19.
That was a campus-wide issue. Grimes also faced a more specific issue with her softball teammates—those that remained.
In 2018, the Cardinals finished runner-up in the MEC, falling a run-shy in innings against West Virginia State. The next season wasn’t as successful and as rumors swirled and fields of study were dropped at campus, so too did the team’s roster.
The 2019 team had 22 players, five of which were seniors. When the 2020 team took the field this spring, it had just 12, including five freshmen. Only eight of the potentially 17 returning players came back.
The team itself was without a head coach until late in the game when WU hired Tiffany Buckmaster to come in and get the ship back on course. That she did.
WU started the season 5-5 after a successful trip to Florida. Grimes herself started strong, leading the team in a number of offensive categories.
But then, as with seemingly all things 2020 related—COVID.
The season was canceled, and the school itself went fully remote. More heartache piled atop the sting of 2019.
But for one Saturday, all was right with the world. Grimes and her classmates donned their caps and gowns and officially graduated on campus and in person.
And now, the future awaits.
You’ve been through a lot your last two seasons at Wheeling from the school solvency issues to the pandemic canceling nearly all of your final season of softball. Did being able to graduate, on-campus and in-person, give you some semblance of proper closure and, given how things went down, do you think the ceremony meant more to you than it may have otherwise under normal circumstances?
The way that my collegiate career ended was indeed non-traditional in every sense, but President Favede’s commitment to holding an in-person graduation allowed me to find the closure I needed to conclude my journey at WU. Reflecting on my college experience during the last few months, I believe the ceremony meant more to me because it represented something joyful to a college class that has faced a lot of hardship, not just in our last year, but in our four years of attendance. When we all left campus mid-March, we did not know whether or not we would see each other again. For myself and my peers, it allowed us to have one last moment together, even at a distance, where we were allowed the opportunity to actually say farewell.
Take me back to softball. School has its own issues, there’s no coach, it’s late in the year, and Coach Buckmaster finally gets hired, and you guys have to scramble to get things ready for the fall. What was that like, and then on top of that, having the season cut short after a pretty solid start, not only for the team, but yourself individually?
Softball has been my life since I was 5 years old. Not having a coach or potentially enough athletes to field a team for my senior year was heartbreaking. I contemplated my options, both athletically and academically, and decided that Wheeling had become my home, and I could not leave the family I found. Not knowing what my future held, I decided to choose faith over fear. Coach Buck inspired and pushed the program to a new and exciting future. Seeing our potential as a team during our Spring Break trip in Florida elevated my game to a new level as an athlete and leader. My mentality was that nothing was going to get in the way of me enjoying my final season of my sport. This all came crashing down with the announcement of our season being canceled due to Covid-19. This was especially disappointing because I desired to return to the MEC Conference Championship and win the ring that I fell short of receiving my sophomore year. My goals and ambitions for the season came crumbling down, and I was distraught. However, my main take away was that even though our season was shortened, I was able to lead my softball program to a bigger and brighter future. Even though I did not accomplish all of my goals for my final year, I am grateful that I played a part in manifesting a new era of Cardinals softball.
The MEC website had the Your Stories section and you submitted a little write-up. Was that more cathartic to help you deal with all that was going on, or was it a way to connect with your fellow athletes around the conference in a shared, albeit difficult, experience?
When the MEC offered a chance to share our stories throughout the conference, I felt as though the story of Wheeling needed to be told. Even though our experience was not completely unique, I deduced that other athletes could relate to the hardship that we had faced. I read many of the stories that were posted before I wrote mine, and the majority of them included some struggle or roadblock, that was conquered in some way. My attempt was to convey that even though the athletes of Cardinals softball had faced catastrophe on and off of the field, even at its most extreme, the adversities could be overcome. In that way, the story was meant to connect with fellow athletes around the conference on the wavelength that every athlete faces challenges throughout their career.
Now that this portion of your life is complete, what are your plans for the future? Was it hard to pass up that additional year of eligibility that was granted given the abrupt end of the season? Or was it time to move on and get life started?
I believe that athletes are always athletes at heart. We are competitive, driven, and extremely hardworking. It was very difficult for me to pass up the additional year of eligibility because it still feels as if I have unfinished business on the field. That being said, I am planning on attending medical school in the fall of 2021 to be an orthopedic surgeon and work in sports medicine. Because I am planning on doing this, balancing another year of softball while being a first-year medical school student makes my situation very difficult. But what made my decision easier was that I did not want to play for any other school besides Wheeling. My heart belongs to Cardinal athletics, and putting on a different uniform would not feel right to me.
Your off the field activities, both on campus and off, seem to mirror the overall spirit that was Wheeling Jesuit and now is Wheeling University. Given that, did you feel more of a connection to the university that you might not have at another institution? Did that make the decision easier for you to stick with WJU/WU through that period of uncertainty?
Being a freshman who wanted to take advantage of all the opportunities college had to offer, I sought involvement in my community and on my campus through several extracurricular activities. I had truly embraced the ideals of the Jesuit education I was receiving, and that inspired me to continue this even though the Jesuit sponsorship was revoked after my junior year. I attended my induction into Alpha Sigma Nu, the honors society for Jesuit students who truly distinguish themselves, during the time that it was announced that the Jesuits would be leaving campus. Fr. Steltencamp, the leader of the Wheeling chapter of the society, spoke that night of how even though the Jesuits would be leaving, the Jesuit spirit must be continued through us. This gave me faith that even though the university was struggling, everything would work out. My connection to the Ignatian teachings became a part of my identity and because of professors like Fr. Steltencamp, along with many others who truly believed in the ideals of the Jesuit education, Wheeling was the only place I saw myself graduating from.
