This feature originally appeared in the Summer edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to calbearbackers@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.


Giving for the benefit of others and receiving more than you gave in return – student-athletes and coaches rely on those values in the quest to achieve potential.
 
So too strives the greater Cal Athletics community – from the staff who drive operations for 30 programs, to the families and fans that follow the Golden Bears in competition – to contribute to the ongoing excellence of Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of California. A key segment of this community is comprised of student-athletes, staff, alumnae and other stakeholders from Cal's women's athletics programs.
 
Since their evolution in the 1970s within Intercollegiate Athletics, women's varsity sports at Cal have grown to include 16 teams, with ever-deepening pools of inspirational alumnae whose loyalty has been consistent to the programs, department and University that fostered their growth. The fundamental participation of alumnae to impact the daily, annual and future prosperity of the programs helps to propel these teams toward successful futures.
 
Anne Simpson '78 was a transfer from Mills College who enrolled at Cal and began rowing for the Bears in 1975-76. "Rowing programs across the country were Title IX babies," Simpson said. "I'm a Title IX kid."
 
Simpson was more than a student-athlete when she arrived at Cal. She was also a pilot, having earned her private license as a sophomore. As she built her credentials toward a commercial license, Simpson considered leaving the team as a senior to give her career more time to take off before resolving to remain in Berkeley. "I had the rest of my life to be a pilot," she said, "but only a short period of time to be a student-athlete."
 
Immediately after receiving her BA in physical education, Simpson put into action a philosophy of giving back. "The year after I graduated, I started supporting the program to the best of my financial capability," she said. "There were so many things about being involved with the crew team that made it important to give back. The hard work, getting up at 5:30 every morning to work out, that type of dedication to anything is definitely going to make a person better. The person that I became had a lot to do with my rowing experience."
 
Today, Simpson is a mentor to both the flight community and the Cal community, and active in both. She and her husband, Charlie Conner, reside in Renton, Wash., where Simpson continues to work as a consultant for Delta Air Lines. When women's crew recently won the 2016 NCAA championship, Simpson was there at Lake Natoma with a wonderful wing woman, her mother.
 
"For many years, Anne Simpson has been instrumental in helping Cal cross the finish line first," said Al Acosta, head coach of women's rowing. "Her spirit, dedication and experiences as an international pilot make her a role model for the young women on the team."
 
One of Anne Simpson's lessons as a mentor is taught through her loyal and continued participation as a donor. Her message to alumnae and the entire Cal Athletics community is to give what you can and be your best, most supportive self to your alma mater.
 
"It doesn't matter whether you can give the same amount as the biggest donors,"
 
Simpson said. "What matters is that you want to support the continuation of the program's you benefitted from and help the people who come after you."
 
When Sarah Hunt '02 finished her field hockey career and received her BA in political science, she too began giving back to the University immediately by mentoring at the same career fairs that helped her start down the road in her current career.
 
A two-time Academic All-American at Cal, Hunt attended a career fair during her sophomore year at the behest of head coach Shellie Onstead. Hunt already had her sights set on an opportunity in the nation's capital, but a representative from the San Francisco Giants at that fair changed the course of Hunt's ensuing summer. A second internship with Giants Enterprises came the following summer, and 15 years later, Hunt is now Vice President at Giants Enterprises.
 
Keenly aware of both the opportunities athletics offered her and the associated responsibilities they entailed, Hunt said the basis for pursuing her collegiate career was "for the love of the game, first and foremost." Over the course of her career with Giants Enterprises, her greater understanding of the network she gained at Cal, as well as the industries related to collegiate athletics, has only grown more astute.
 
"Olympic sports like field hockey are not traditionally sports that are going to pay the bills for the rest of your life," Hunt said. "But at Cal they're putting women in a unique position to get the best of all worlds. We get the opportunity to create a great foundation whether it's continuing in the athletic field or pursuing something completely different with our education."
 
While alumnae participation is critical to the ongoing well-being of these programs, it's also critical, Hunt explained, for alumnae of all ages to hold a firmer understanding of the myriad ways to give back. 
 
"It is vitally important to give back to Olympic sports," Hunt said. "It's about educating people on what all those opportunities are so they see there are so many ways to give back. It may be tutoring a student-athlete. It may be taking in an intern. It may be writing a check. It may be being an advocate when a team is going through a difficult time. The key is to be involved in the ways that you can."
 
Onstead said of her as a student-athlete, "Sara was very unselfish from the beginning. She was a hard worker on the field, which raised the entire team's energy, and she was never afraid of the work off the field. She is an example of what we can all do, which is to get involved. From the financial piece to the service piece, it's so impactful for today's players to see what she and other alumni are doing. "
 
Having personally led the production of World Series parades and international sporting events, and liaised with commercial and political stakeholders in the process, Hunt is empathetic and realistic in her take on Cal's task to support for its broad portfolio of programs. "You have to be creative, figure out organic ways to tap into new markets and segment your population," she said. "At the same time, you want be to as inclusive as possible and not be a single-track story. For Cal, in my view, it's about the holistic student-athlete experience and the type of person that Cal is raising."
 
As alumnae who have matriculated through the University by way of the student-athlete experience continue to shine as leaders and mentors, the collective participation of everyone connected to Cal Athletics, across both genders, will ensure that Intercollegiate Athletics remain the bedrock for future generations of Golden Bears.