Welcome to the newest RWU Athletics weekly feature, Alumni Profiles. Here we will be featuring a former Roger Williams student-athlete and catching up with them on their career since graduating from RWU.
 
Our next entry comes from Ailish Barry. Ailish was a four-year member of the Women's Cross Country team and graduated from RWU in 2015 as a Psychology & International Relations Major and Spanish Minor. She helped the team to runner-up finishes in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship in her junior and senior year and was a three-time RWU and CCC All-Academic Team selection.

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What is your current job title and what does that entail?
I am the Boston Field Experience Representative for Deckers Outdoor Brands/HOKA ONE ONE. HOKA ONE ONE is a performance footwear brand. My job is to promote the brand in my assigned markets (MA/ME/NH) via fun events and partnering with retailers or local consumer groups. It's fun because I get to host a lot of running/fitness events and travel a lot (in normal times). Due to the pandemic, I've recently had to pivot to more virtual & smaller in-person events.
 
How did your athletic involvement at RWU help you in the path that you chose following graduation?
I have had a passion for running for a really long time. I started running cross country at the age of 11 and I was so thankful that I was able to continue that on at RWU, running all four years and alongside others who also had a passion for running. When I graduated from RWU, it was really difficult for me to say goodbye to the cross country chapter of my life. While I was in graduate school, I worked part-time at Marathon Sports, a local run specialty retailer, as a way to keep me connected to the running community and a team. I loved that job so much that when I graduated from grad school with my Masters in Mental Health Counseling, I decided I wanted to pivot a bit with my career. I continued to work at Marathon and coached cross country for a bit as an assistant coach at a local high school until one day, a good friend told me I would be a really good brand rep for one of the running-related brands Marathon Sports sold. I ended up working for almost a year as the New England Sales Representative for Nuun Hydration until HOKA picked me up to be their Boston Field Experience Representative. I was ecstatic because not only were HOKAs my favorite running shoes, but I landed my dream job by being able to socialize and host fun events with other runners! I truly would not be here had it not been for the RWU Cross Country team and the incredible running community that comes along with it.
 
What is your most fond memory of RWU Athletics?
I have so many, but I think my favorite was my last conference race. It was a horribly rainy day at Gordon College and we wanted the conference title. Our biggest competitors, UNE and Salve, were both going for that title as well. I had worked SO hard that season—getting up at 6:00am every Tuesday and Thursday morning for spin class as an additional boost to my training. The gun went off and it was so cold and muddy and windy, but it was like I was invincible. I have never been so focused in a race. Being my last conference championship race, I wanted to run until the wheels fell off. I don't remember my time, but I do remember I ran my best 6K time by over a minute that day. We didn't get the title, but we were the runners-up and I was so proud of myself and my team for doing so well in some not-so-great conditions.
 
What would you say were your greatest athletic and academic accomplishments during your time at RWU?
The above was definitely one of my greatest races. Some other accomplishments were PRing in the 5K (still my best 5K PR to this day). Another was the conference championship in my junior year. We were runners-up to UNE by only two points—so close!
 
For academic accomplishments, I was a double major with a minor. I was a member of Psi Chi & Sigma Iota Rho. I graduated with really good grades that allowed me to get a 2/3rds scholarship to graduate school.
 
Why did you choose to attend RWU?
When I walked onto to RWU's campus, I felt at home. I had mainly been looking at schools in Boston, but when I found this little campus on the water, I knew it was where I belonged. RWU's Cross Country team was also a big reason to what brought me to RWU. My high school times would not have allowed me to compete at a DI level (which most of the Boston schools I was looking at were), but I still wanted cross country in my life. Because of RWU, I was still able compete hard like I would at any school, but also able to maintain more of a balance between my athletics and academics. Plus Coach Sean is the best!
 
I cannot state enough of how much I love RWU. Not only did I love my years on the Cross Country team, but I met some of my best friends (to this day!) and my now fiancé at RWU! It really has given me so much in my life.
 
Were you involved in any extracurricular activities outside of athletics?
Yes! My favorite extracurricular activity was being a Peer Mentor for the Advising office. I loved advising undeclared freshmen & sophomores on their academics.
 
What piece of advice would you have for current RWU student-athletes?
LOVE every minute of it while you're there! It goes by so fast and it can be really hard when it's over, but if you love the community RWU Athletics brings you, remember that no matter where you are in the world, you can find that amazing community again. Whether it's joining a club sports league, volunteering, coaching, your career, etc. your RWU teammates and coaches will always be there to support you.
 
And to my fellow Cross Country runners, you might not end up being as fast as you used to be (haha!), but if you run with heart, determination, and passion, that's all that matters.
 

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Are you a former RWU student-athlete interested in being part of our Alumni Profile series? If so, please contact Athletic Communication Director at nwilliams@rwu.edu for more information!