By Trevor Wenners
Assistant Director of Sports Information
The original plan for Emily Cauldwell was to become a physical therapist after graduating from LaGrange College in 2018.
Plans are sometimes meant to be broken, right?
That was certainly the case for Cauldwell. The four-year Panther softball player had a burning desire to represent something larger than herself. This triggered her decision to join the Navy.
|
Cauldwell is stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, but she will report to Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, in January. She currently works in the deck department, with the boatswain's mates. Her new role will include managing the ship's inventory.
"Joining the armed forces is something that I always felt like I needed to do for my country and myself," said Cauldwell. "I still want to get into physical therapy later in life. I picked the Navy because of the unique opportunity to travel across the world. I have been attached to the USS George H.W. Bush during my first two years in Virginia. It is an aircraft carrier and we have been in the ship for a major maintenance period. The type of work we typically do is preservation of the ship and maintenance on life jackets, refueling equipment and lines."
Cauldwell will be remembered as an outstanding Panther student-athlete. The Indianapolis native earned a Bachelor of Science in exercise science from LaGrange.
Cauldwell won 11 games and maintained a 3.69 ERA in 206 2/3 innings. As a senior, she led the team in wins (8), ERA (3.09) and innings pitched (113.1). She finished in a tie for 12th in wins in the USA South and was named to the conference's All-Sportsmanship team in 2018.
During her rookie season in 2015, the Panthers won the program's first USA South championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament.
"Being a part of the 2015 team was one of the most amazing experiences in my life," said Cauldwell. "Those girls will forever hold a special place in my heart. We were the underdogs that season. I will never forget the weekend that we won the conference title. The dugout was filled with passion and fire. I do not think anyone outside of our team expected us to win, but we believed and that is all that matters. We all played our role that season."
Cauldwell took some time out of her jam-packed schedule to engage in a Q&A segment.
Q: What do you remember most about your LaGrange experience?
A: What I remember the most from my time as a Panther is the people, including the friendships, professors and teammates. They all shaped me into who I am today. LaGrange broke me out of my shell. Whether it was pushing myself harder in the weight room or pushing myself in the classroom to study more diligently, I always wanted to give my all.
|
Q: What made you decide to enroll at LaGrange?
A: I was born and raised in Indiana, but I moved to north Florida when I was in high school and graduated there. My parents moved back to Indiana when I graduated. At the time of graduating high school, I was looking for colleges in the South that I could play softball for and still get a strong education. I went on a LaGrange campus tour my senior year of high school and was blown away. I loved the small-town atmosphere and the small-class sizes.
Q: How did LaGrange softball head coach Jennifer Claybrook impact you?
A: Coach Claybrook has always inspired me because of her positive attitude. Her famous advice is to control the controllable. For example, if the umpire makes a bad call, there is no point in being upset over it. We learned to take the good with the bad and move on. That advice works in real life because things happen that we do not like, but we cannot let the small things bring us down.
Q: What do you miss most about putting on the Panther uniform?
A: What I miss the most are all the small things. I miss stepping on the mound right after the national anthem with those pregame butterflies. I miss our pregame huddle with everyone in the circle screaming our chant that we had said a thousand times. A great feeling was giving my catchers a high-five after a strikeout for the third out of an inning.
Trevor Wenners can be reached at twenners@lagrange.edu.
-
For continuing coverage of Panther athletics, stay up to date with our website and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
