Eastern Wayne Today

On February 29, 2024, Danielle Fick and Grace Fisher, along with their fellow athletes at Notre Dame College, faced unexpected news that would alter their academic and athletic paths. The college in South Euclid, Ohio, announced its closure due to financial difficulties and declining enrollment.

"We did not want to go to that meeting because we kind of knew what the news was going to be. Our coach pulled us into a classroom of just the softball team," Fick said.

The announcement left infielder Danielle Fick and pitcher Grace Fisher without a school for their final two years of collegiate softball. "We all broke down when we found out," Fisher recalled. "We were all in a classroom and our coach came in crying, and it was just kind of a dead giveaway."

The NDC softball team received this information before departing for their spring training tournament in Florida. They were entered into the transfer portal on the day of the meeting.

"The first email I got from a new school was the first day of the Florida tournament, the subject line said, 'Your Next Dugout' and that was just not comfortable to me because I am playing right now, I am in my dugout actually," Fick said.

Fisher added, "I got a text five minutes after our meeting that we found out the school was closing saying 'Hey what are you doing next year, I heard your school was closing.' Like, five minutes ago I just found out my school was shutting down I still have not processed it."

Navigating their last season while seeking a new academic home proved challenging for both athletes. The volume of communication from potential schools made them question whether they wanted to continue playing.

"We had strong doubt," remarked Fick. "I mean we really liked it there so when something that you really like gets taken away from you suddenly it's like well do I just finish my degree or go somewhere cheaper, easier, and not play anymore."

Eventually, they contacted Wayne State University (WSU) coaches. After visiting WSU and considering their options as Nursing students, they decided to switch majors to Kinesiology at WSU.

"We had the option to go to other schools and continue on that nursing path or go to a different school and be behind," commented Fisher. "But here you could get one major and finish a degree and then go into an accelerated nursing program for a year and a half and you would get two degrees."

Adjusting from NDC's smaller community of about 1,400 students to WSU's nearly 24,000 posed challenges.

"You do not see or interact with as many people here since it is so big," Fisher noted. "At NDC there were around 1,000 people at the school... Almost everyone knew everyone."

Fick observed changes in workload: "You get here, and you do not know as many people, and our class work and daily schedule has changed a lot."

Despite initial doubts, both athletes look forward to opportunities at WSU.

"Seeing different people and getting a fresh start... No one knows who you are coming in," said Fisher.

"I am excited to play in a new conference... We also spend less time traveling which is nice for keeping up with classes," Fick said.

Fick and Fisher now view this transition as an opportunity for success on the field and academically at Wayne State University.