In the spirit of D-III Week, St. Lawrence Athletics & Recreation is partnering with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) to release features highlighting the amazing people who make up our D-III student body. Today, it's a full-length question-and-answer interview with women's basketball senior Hannah Van Dyke.

The Southwick, Mass., native has carved out a dual identity on campus. She competes as a member of the women's basketball team while leading Saints Nation, the St. Lawrence athletics student spirit organization, as its inaugural president. It's a combination that speaks to what Division III athletics is built around. Student-athletes who are fully invested in the college experience.

You've served as president of Saints Nation for its inaugural year, and have led tremendous growth in the department. But it didn't come from nothing. How did this opportunity come to be? 

Hannah Van Dyke: In my junior year, I had an internship with Franco Bari, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. We worked with other students, and Franco wanted to transform this into a larger version, so we decided as a group the name and if we wanted a mascot and stuff, and from there we started creating a handbook, and then towards the end of the semester. I went up to Franco and volunteered myself to carry the initiative into this season. I really wanted to see it progress and go further and be a part of something like that. Over the summer, I met with Franco periodically to get the organization off the ground, and that's where it got its kickstart. I helped create the handbook, then from there we met throughout the semester and turned the organization into what it is! 

What's been the most rewarding part of it? 

Seeing how it's developed, going from being a thought to really implementing our ideas. Whether it was a half-time promotion, a social media promotion, or seeing students really get involved in participating in themes games to get prizes, I think has been really rewarding. Seeing it develop into something I can look back and be proud of making my mark here at St. Lawrence. 

What about being a student-athlete has shaped your life priorities? And do you think that the student athlete experience has changed how you look at life and how you look at your future? 

I grew up playing sports, so sports have always been a big priority of mine. From playing AAU basketball and trying other sports year-round. Coming into college, I would say it was a big priority of mine with basketball. However, I think I always made time for other things like extracurricular activities, like Saints Nation. I would always fit that into my schedule. I would always try to make working athletic events on campus a priority too, just like doing other things, but keeping basketball like a forefront and always like working hard and focusing on that. 

Favorite memory or moment? 

Before home games, me and my teammates would always be in the locker room and play the same songs before we went out. It was just a great time with the team and a display of our bonding . I think we will always all look back at that and that's something we'll all remember. 

On the court, my buzzer beater against Skidmore was crazy! And not even like that shot, but I remember we were down 20 points and then in the middle of the game when I was on the court, I looked up noticed that we had closed the gap considerably. I was like, wow, we're only seven points away. And I was just so proud of our team for getting to where we were and like winning that game capped off the amazing experience. 

What will you miss the most about competing when your career is over? 

I think I'm a very competitive person, so at the end of the day, I will miss the environment of sports so much. And just being on a team, I think that environment is so important.  

If you had advice for your first-year self, what would it be? 

Take advantage of everything you can, whether that's clubs or other extracurriculars, and always push yourself. Put in the extra work.