Because of Title IX: Tanya Vogel

Senior Associate Athletics Director, George Washington University

Finish this sentence: “Because of Title IX...”

I have been able to live my dream: compete, coach, and lead in college athletics!

How have the athletic and academic opportunities afforded to you because of Title IX impacted your life? Can you imagine your life without them?

Title IX began to really stretch its legs in the early '90s as intercollegiate soccer programs slowly but surely were added to almost all of our Division I, II, and III institutions. I was able to attend George Washington on an athletic scholarship and earn both my bachelors and masters degrees, graduating debt-free. As more programs were added, women graduated and moved into coaching positions. I was able to go on and coach collegiately for 15 years. Working in higher education offered me the opportunity to earn my MBA. I honestly can’t even imagine where I would be or what I would be doing had Title IX not passed.

Tell us about a woman who championed you in pursuing your goals. How did her influence inspire or affect you and your career?

I have been blessed to have been coached and taught by many female champions. I played for my hero, Shannon Higgins-Cirovski and wouldn’t have had it any other way. GW also provided an awesome opportunity to be stretched academically. The single most influential professor was Dr. Pat Sullivan (Former Nebraska and GW volleyball coach & faculty member), who taught me everything from the principles of coaching to leadership excellence. Other than my mother and sisters, those two women have had the greatest impact on me as a student, as an athlete, and as a leader.

How are you continuing to champion the next generation of women and girls in sports, and raise awareness on the importance Title IX?

I intentionally work to “lift as I rise” by mentoring as many women as possible who are interested in leadership, whether it’s in athletics or not. At GW, we are raising young adults who will go on to be global leaders, and I take my role here very seriously as we have critical conversations about how they think, act, and impact the world around them. These conversations often reflect back on the opportunities that we are now afforded because of women who came before us and, surrounding athletics, we often speak about Title IX.

I’m often asked, "is Title IX relevant anymore” and my eyes grow large and say loudly, "it’s more relevant today than ever.” We have so much work to continue to do at the youth level, in high schools, in college, and beyond. If we forget where we came from, we are bound to get lost. We have built an extraordinary mentoring program matching our athletic alumni with our current students. The professional advisement is critical, but I find that when our alumni share their stories of the “early days” it provides our current athletes with a heightened awareness of what things were like prior to Title IX and the decades following its passage. I enjoy seeing our current students’ faces as they learn about the uniforms, locker rooms, travel accommodations, etc.—and they realize how fortunate they are.

If you could send an empowering tweet to every woman and girl across the country, what would you send?

“Some women fear the fire…some women simply become it.” – r.h. sin

See all our #BecauseofTitleIX stories here! »
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