Darcy M. Antonellis, ENG '84

You know, we’re a Division I team, and I played singles and doubles. In addition to playing tennis, I actually… I worked at the local McDonald’s at the closing shift, and the fellow that owned the McDonald’s said, “Whatever is left in the bins at the end of the evening, the whole shift can split and take home.” And so it quickly became known which nights I was working, and I would no sooner than pull up and there would be students waiting for Big Macs and Quarter Pounders with cheese and fries and so, that was the routine during the week.

My first year, I was actually a student out in Ambler. We were so bloody mischievous, I don’t even know if I can share half of the things that we did at Ambler. I lived, and I don’t know if at the time it was something new, but I was on a co-ed floor; so, guys and gals mixed, which really sent my parents over the edge. I think I might have neglected to tell them about that minor point. Quickly, you know, those people become family.

It was challenging because I was the only engineering student in the, I think maybe in the women’s athletic program at the time, and certainly on the tennis team. So, you’d be in vans, dark, with a flashlight studying for exams or working on homework while you were traveling between tournaments. Some of my fondest memories were, I have pretty small feet so they’d always take my tennis shoes and hang them over the rear view mirror in the van.

-If you’ve attended your graduation, tell me about it.

You know, there are moments in your life and there are accomplishments that you have, and I think for me it certainly stands out. Less for me personally, I mean it was important for me, but the biggest thing was the pride in my parents’ faces was…

My involvement with the university is driven by an enormous passion to see us be successful, visible and expansive. We have everything that it takes and then some. This is an institution that has holding up the pillars fantastic people — bright, creative, wonderful, warm-hearted individuals and a great student body ­— and there’s nothing that we can’t do.