A Journey Through Sport, Service, and Scholarship

As a young athlete, Syracuse field hockey's, Vivian Rowan traded in her ice skates for cleats. "I originally played ice hockey, but I wanted something to keep me in shape for the fall, so I joined a field hockey team. I was just playing for fun, using my speed and running around and then when I joined the team, I was pretty nervous because I felt like my skills weren't on the same level as the other girls."

Gloria Nantulya, an SU field hockey alumna, was one of Rowan's recreational coaches who ultimately became her mentor and high school coach. "It was pretty nerve-wracking and stressful but then Gloria was reassuring and told me to play my strengths which is my speed, so I have taken that in mind even here at Syracuse."

When Rowan, who will be a senior this fall, started looking at different colleges, she leaned on the personal experiences of her peers. "I knew two girls from my club who were on the Syracuse team already, so it was easy to see myself here. I love the culture and the school and since I have been up here Gloria has been an amazing resource, especially freshman year, helping me get adjusted to playing at the collegiate level."

Now, Rowan knew she made the right choice. "You never know until you're in it but from what I have experienced, the culture is pretty amazing. The closest thing I can equate it to is family; we have each other's backs, we're all working towards the same goal, but we also know how to have fun which I think is unique about this culture."

Whether it's her teammates or her parents, Rowan has always treasured family, particularly valuing her twin sister. "It's awesome having a twin. She's still my best friend. When we were young, we were so close that we didn't want to play with anyone else because no one really understood our imagination."

Even in Rowan's pastime activities she considers her family involvement. Knitting is a skill that she learned in her youth at a summer camp.

"It's really fun because you can be with the family and still knit. It also helps with not being on my phone, which I dislike because it feels like it's wasting time."

Last summer Rowan had an internship that was long and tiring, and she would come home and crochet stuffed animals as a stress reliever. "Crocheting keeps me productive and there is satisfaction in finishing the arm of the dinosaur."

"My favorite knitting project is Remy because I made it for my mom. My family has a joke that my mom is Remy from Ratatouille. My father would give my sister and I recipes to cook but my mom would really do all the cooking. But, my dad thought I actually did the cooking. Since then, we call my mom Remy."

Over COVID, Rowan began knitting hats, estimating that she made 40-50, she sold them and donated the money to Samaritan's Purse. When it comes to community service, Rowan doesn't fall short.

"I attended a catholic high school which was big about living your life the way Jesus did and we valued community service."

Growing up, Rowan and her sister gave away half of their Halloween candy to the troops away from loved ones, aware that holidays are harder for some people. In high school, they led a Samaritan's Purse group, a humanitarian aid organization, every Thursday.

Last spring, she also volunteered at the Humane Society animal shelter. "I would help them do laundry and clean the dog and cat bowls. I was drawn to that because I like animals and it's sad that the shelters are so understaffed. I was never allowed to have pets because both my parents worked so much. When I was younger our neighbor had an outdoor cat and so I became friends with her. I was a little kid so I would follow her around the neighborhood and help her hunt."

Earlier this year, the team volunteered at Sarah's House, a nonprofit that provides housing, transportation, and meals for families of patients who are receiving medical care in Central New York. "Painting the rooms was a really fun activity for the team to do."

Between practices, classes, and volunteering, Rowan still found time to join Beta Alpha Psi International, an honor society. "Last semester, I sat next to the president by chance in an accounting class. We become friends and he was like 'you have to join.' I did the application and went through a day of interviews. The fraternity is great! I got the meet people in Whitman, and in the Big 4 companies and they will do networking events and resume building, which has been really helpful."

With Rowan's significant workload, she's faced some challenges. "The hardest part is that there are some weeks where everything seems to accumulate at once. Then there are some weeks where we have a hard game, so there is the mental side because you have to go to practice, and meetings, and sometimes miss class on top of that, and of course that's the week my car breaks down, and I feel like I don't have enough time for everything."

Rowan says the key to balancing it all is setting goals and working ahead. "Knowing what's coming up and what I will be missing makes my life easier, so just focusing in on time management is helpful."

One of Rowan's current goals is to become more reliable as a goal-scorer on the field. Working ahead of those goals, she has been meeting with her advisors and coaches.

"I had a meeting with one of the assistant coaches, Sam (Brown) right before spring break. We talked about my goals for on the field and he said 'the scary thing is that there is basically 6 weeks of spring, 18 weeks to preseason, and 30 weeks to its all done. I am in your corner and if you commit to wanting to have the season of your life I will be there.' " He has been awesome; I'll go out to the field with him twice a week and do far-away and close-in goal scoring."

Now, as one of the team's mature players, Rowan bears a substantial responsibility to lead. "There is a leadership that just comes with being older and a upperclassman, this was the first time where I felt like I had natural leadership, so I cherished that the most."

As for academics, her main goal is to graduate summa cum laude (3.8 GPA or higher) as she double majors in accounting and business analytics. "Accounting is one of the tracks where you have to be on top of things. I really liked the finance and accounting side because it's really satisfying where every number has a place and if something is missing you can find it, kind of like a puzzle."

Rowan is set to graduate with her Bachelor of Science degree in May 2025.

Syracuse University Athletics

A Journey Through Sport, Service, and Scholarship

Players Mentioned

Vivian Rowan

Related Videos