What Makes a Community Champion?

Meet Kate Fagan.

Born in Warwick, RI, this Emmy-Award winning journalist and the No.1 New York Times Best selling author of “What Made Maddy Run” came to speak recently at Warwick Veterans Middle School.

Kate’s presentation, Life Instagrammed: Mental Health and Perfectionism, targeted the role of social media and its effect on mental health, sports, and perfectionism. The presentation began with the story of Maddy Holloran, a Division 1 athlete trying to balance running, studying at an Ivy League, while maintaining a social life. This balancing act, along with her struggle of depression, was hidden well within her social media page and is not uncommon.

The pressure that young people, especially student-athletes, face is feeding into an “Achievement Culture.” Trying to be perfect and achieve greatness, both on-line and in reality, seems to be demanded of our students today. Kate, a former college athlete herself, played for the University of Colorado women’s basketball team and wrote as a columnist for ESPN.

After telling Maddy’s story, Kate began to hear from many other student-athletes who were also struggling. Being a voice for others, Kate Fagan continues to travel to college campuses and speak about the support needed to address the mental well being of student-athletes. Mental health needs to be discussed so that young people today know that they are not alone. When asked for a few words of wisdom, this is what Kate Fagan had to say.

BT: How can I convince my peers that giving back to the community is just as or even more fulfilling than being a star athlete?

KF: If you are just modeling and showing enthusiasm and joy, then people will be able to see that. However, it is a challenging endeavor, just because the social value is just so sky high. Helping others, it’s just not as valued in our culture today the same way as succeeding in the game itself. However, once you begin to give back, you realize its true value.

BT:Looking back, what advice would you give your younger self?

KF: When we were a lot younger we got hyper focused on one set thing. The moment you begin to get positive feedback on one thing, whether it’s music or sports, you start to crave more of the feeling of being good at something. You begin to get blinders on and can’t tell if you love the praise or if you love your passion. The advice I would give to myself is stay a little bit more open to the ways you become human, and the different ways you become a better person. I thought if I was the best at basketball then that’s all that mattered, but I ended up leaving a lot of things on the side. I thought that was how people would think I was good enough, by being a basketball player.

BT: Beyond your achievement in sports, what inspires you to give back to your community as well as encourage others to do the same?

KF: The story of Madison Holleran and the mental health of athletes, along with their sport and academics, made me realize that when covering her story, I wasn’t just doing something good or giving back, it was actually a story that I was very interested in. Over the years it has just allowed me to speak to others about similar causes. This topic of mental health opens up conversations with others. Whether a stranger or a best friend who finally begins to open up about their mental health, I began to realize how helpful it is to humanity to build better relationships with others. Doing good in the world has this sort of snowball effect that once you start helping others, you can’t get enough of it. From here you can see that doing good in your community and helping others is just as important as financial and athletic success.

BT: You, as an athlete, continue to be a positive influence. What are some examples of the contributions made or causes that you support?

KF: The Madison Holleran foundation or To Write Love on Her Arms, an organization that focuses on suicidal awareness geared towards the music community, are just a few important causes that support mental health. The main goal is to break down the mental health stigma and “Achievement Culture” to relieve that sort of weight bearing down on some athletes’ shoulders.

Thank you Kate Fagan for using your platform, as a famous author and sports commentator, to make a positive difference in our community.