Sara Lopez is a 1983 graduate with a BA.Ed in Physical Education. Originally from Canoga Park California, Sara serves as a Director for the Center for Leadership in Athletics and Program Director for the Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership (IAL) M.Ed. at the University of Washington. For the past 10-years she has contributed to the growth of efforts to develop leaders in athletics committed to the positive impact sports can have on students and the community. She believes her work is important because this potential is often lost or twisted into negative experiences we read about in the headlines. The leaders she is preparing understand and enable the promise of enriching sport experiences and the transformational impact sports can achieve. They are making a significant difference in the organizations they are working in as program administrators and coaches.
So far, what's one of your greatest accomplishments?
Through my work in various professional roles – an educator, as a coach, a sports administrator, an academic director – I am most proud of the impact I see on the lives of people engaged in positive sports experiences. With young athletes, Olympic champions, athletes with disabilities, or older adults just discovering athletics, I am filled with wonder and pride as I assist in crafting an experience that results in a transformative influence often extending way beyond the field of play. I feel blessed contributing to the transformative experiences that foster building active and healthy lifestyles. Additionally, these experiences can develop the many qualities that enrich and fulfill our inner lives and our place in the community – resilience, courage, teamwork, self-esteem, inclusion, goal-setting, confidence, tenacity, challenge, persistence, joy. I am continually invigorated to be engaged in education and driven to support others as they realized the magic of self-discovery.
What's your fondest memory of PLU?
My fondest memories of PLU are linked to relationships that provided acceptance and support. Informal moments sitting in the dorms engaged in conversation and laughter, classes with faculty who knew me enough to keep the pressure and challenge at just the right level, and teammates willing to train toward goals that required us to dig deep and know that we had each others’ backs. The PLU community enabled me to grow and explore the various elements of who I am and how I could reach toward my potential in terms of being grounded in my faith, shaped in my academic scholarship and professional preparation, challenged in my athletic endeavors, and confident in my own value and worth. I believe it was these relationships that later enabled me to find love and acceptance through my coming out experience (at a time when the attitude of general society was much different than today!). Although there was not a formal Diversity Center, my memory of PLU still centers on a campus community where I experienced inclusion and acceptance.
Why is The Diversity Center important?
On the surface, PLU can look very homogeneous. And yet, even within a group that may appear similar at first glance, there is often a complexity and diversity that is revealed only when we make time to share openly and with an attitude of acceptance. The Diversity Center is an important symbol to remind us of this rich tapestry in the PLU community and a focal point to assist us in gaining the perspective and skills to engage with each other in an environment of compassion and full hearts. Perhaps even more importantly, the Diversity Center provides a refuge for those exploring who they are or even struggling to find self-acceptance. It is also important to recognize that as the Diversity Center does daily work on campus, it also has a more extended reach. I described how the rich relationships I found at PLU provided a solid grounding for me to become the woman of faith and impactful educator I am today. In a similar manner, the work of Diversity Center is amplified by those PLU students who gain from its supportive culture and empowering programs and then go on to do valuable and enriching work outside the PLU community. Within the sport of rowing, we understand the synergy of a diverse team pulling toward a common goal. The Diversity Center is valuable in enabling synergy within the PLU community that ripples far beyond campus.
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