Aim Athlete Chats: Alumni Edition
The 2024 NCAA College Field Hockey Championships kick off this week for DI, DII and DIII. This Aim Athlete Chat, we connected with Aim Alums and current Harvard University teammates, Kate Oliver and Faith Schmidt. Fresh off their Ivy Conference Championship win, they take a trip to UConn’s campus to play Syracuse University. Let’s get to know them and the team more ahead of their Sweet 16 Round game this Friday, November 15th.
Kate Oliver is a junior forward on the Crimson squad who is majoring in Applied Math in Economics with a Government minor. As a player, Kate has scored 10 goals, given 8 assists and played in almost 50 games in her career so far. She is a relentless player who is always willing to leave it all on the field for her team.
As Kate reflected on her team’s chemistry this year, she said they have meshed seamlessly together all year, setting themselves up well for a successful tournament.
“I have loved how seamlessly our team has meshed together this year,” Kate said. “We have strong players across every class, but seeing the first years integrate so easily and aid in making our team better has been so cool to see. The love we have for our teammates has been so evident this year, and I have no doubt it will carry us through to the end of NCAAs.”
Faith Schmidt is a senior defender on the Harvard team. She is majoring in Environmental Engineering, serves as a cadet in Air Force ROTC and was recently selected to attend Undergraduate Pilot training next year. As a player, Faith shows an immense love of the game, and superior hard work on and off the field. 
As she reflected on the tournament ahead, she said her days with Aim prepared her to be the best teammate she could be over her four years at Harvard.
“Aim definitely prepared me to understand that being the best teammate you can be, in whatever role you are in, is the most important thing you can do as a player for your team,” Faith said. “Aim’s focus on high level hockey with high-level character is what all college athletes need to succeed.”
Kate echoed Faith’s feelings about Aim sharing that the program and coaches prepared her with the mental toughness required to play at the collegiate level.
“College field hockey is a fast-paced, high-stress environment that requires controlling what you can control, constantly resetting, and playing selflessly; these are all skills I have been using since the beginning of my field hockey career thanks to Aim.”
As they both take to the field for this year’s NCAA Tournament, they both shared special messages to their team ahead of the game against Syracuse.
Kate: “Our motto of 25 to 1 rings so true during playoffs when no matter your playing time, you are sacrificing so much to be together; it makes it even more special and I want us to have the mindset of let’s keep our team together for as long as possible and make HFH history.”
Faith: “This group of girls are high-level hockey players, and also the funniest bunch of girls I know. It’s so cool to see a group of girls play this level of hockey with this much joy! Be the hidden worker. AIRPOWER!!! Big dawgs!”
Good Luck, Kate and Faith! We cannot wait to watch you succeed with the Harvard Crimson. You can watch their game on ESPN+ tomorrow at 1:30pm CT, and the full bracket is listed here for future games. Go Crimson!
