For the end of Women’s History Month, we are featuring women throughout the University of Idaho. Meet Natalie Wiley:
Natalie Wiley stepped up as a student leader for Women’s Lacrosse her junior year. She serves as a player, coach and mentor to the women on her team.
Wiley is a senior at the University of Idaho and graduates next semester. She is the president of Women’s Lacrosse at UI. When Wiley was a junior, she stepped up and became president, because no one else was able to.
“If I didn’t, there would be no team right now,” Wiley said.
She has been president for two consecutive years and has been playing lacrosse for eight.
Wiley helps plan tournaments and practices, recruit new members, attends lacrosse club meetings and coaches.
Emily Pearce | Argonaut
“At times it is really stressful, but it is also really rewarding. I like the stress, because there is a lot that comes out of it,” Wiley said.
The best part about her role is seeing people who have never picked up a stick before grow and come together with the team, Wiley said. She likes the opportunities to meet people and become their friend.
“I’ve made a lot of good connections with the lacrosse community in the Pacific Northwest that is super great for future endeavors for references,” Wiley said.
Some of Wiley’s goals as a leader are to be inspiring to others, make connections and be there when someone is struggling.
“You can be as much of a leader as you want and get nothing out of it,” Wiley said. “If a girl is struggling, I want to go and be there for her and offer that support, even if she wants her own space. That is how I see myself as inspiring, being able to reach out and be there for someone.”
As a leader, you need to know how to follow first, Wiley said.
“You should learn how to follow before you truly know how to lead. It brings a lot more opportunities listening to other opinions, which can give ideas that (you) would never think of,” Wiley said. “If I didn’t have the input from other people, then it wouldn’t be as successful.”
Wiley said she is empowered by a passion for her team and individual accomplishments, but she stays humble as a leader. It is important to know the team works as a collective, and she tries her best to lead.
For Wiley, being a female leader is empowering because many generations of her family have not had the opportunity or couldn’t see themselves as a leader.
“(My grandma and mother) talk about things they wanted to do but never had the opportunity to do them, because they were women and were never seen that they could be a leader,” Wiley said. “Some of it empowers me to do it for them. To show them, yeah, I can do it too.”
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce.