Whitney Booker In Her Own Words...

Whitney is a sophomore on the Women's Lacrosse team at Columbia. She is a Biomedical Engineer Major in The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

My name is Whitney Booker and I am on the Women's Lacrosse team at Columbia University. I went to The Baldwin School for Girls, a small independent school in suburban Philadelphia.

I live in Chester Springs, Pa., about 25 miles outside of Philadelphia. I am a biomedical engineer major in The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Columbia University.

When doing the college search I didn't say to myself, "I must go to an Ivy League School." I was looking for a school that was in the city, but had a campus like feel. I wanted a school that was relatively small (since I came from a graduating class of 37 girls), a school that had a competitive -- but growing -- sports program and a school far enough away from home so that I could make my own life, but close enough so that my family could still be a part of my life.

I came from a school that was incredibly competitive academically, and I knew that the Ivy League would be full of people just like that; and for the most part they are. Columbia University is a place, I think, like any school no matter how good a reputation or name tag it has on it (i.e., Ivy League) where you can make the most or least out of the education as you choose. You can be a major and have minimal credits required for graduation and take classes that require less everyday work, or you can be a pre-med, math, or engineering major where you are required to stretch yourself to your limits.

I did not know this going into Columbia, nor did any of my other good friends who went Ivy League schools. My best friend from Princeton (whom I've visited many times) tells me that Princeton is that same way. You can take easy classes with minimal work loads or hard ones, with significant work loads. I could not be happier anywhere else in the world, but I now realize, it's not because I am at an Ivy League school, it's because I chose a school based on the other merits previously mentioned.

As an African-American, I have noticed something particularly interesting about the black athletes here at Columbia. However, when listening to my views and opinions and experiences, the reader must take into consideration that I am biracial; my dad is black and mom white, and to most people I look completely white.

Two of my very best friends at Columbia are black. Olivier and Ali Manignat, football players from Canada, are probably two of the most popular guys on campus, and have integrated themselves completely in the Columbia community, both black and white. Like me, they don't feel hesitant socializing with one who is not like them. I feel we are like this because we've come from small, private, mostly-white schools where we became used to socializing with people even if they are different then us.

However, one of my other friends, who is friends with several players on another Columbia team has noticed that they are more segregated. "The black guys don't really socialize with the white guys," she said. "I think that this effects them when they play. I also think this is because the black guys came from a school where there were a lot of other black guys, so they were not forced to leave their comfort zone."

So, these are my opinions of the experiences of African-American athletes.

The best advice I could give to an African-American athlete is the best advice I could give to any student-athlete: visit lots of schools, stay over night, meet the people, go to classes and venture out into the neighborhoods. Make a list of what you want in a school: size, location, sports program, academics, and make sure you choose a school not based on its title, or how good the bumper sticker will look on the back of your SUV, but where you think you will be happiest.

***Please note, this story was written for a previous Ivy League Black History Month celebration. It is reproduced here for archival purposes and has not been updated.***