Alumna outfits Ultimate Frisbee team in brand new jerseys
Last spring, Trish Bernal (B.S.’80, M.S.’91) joined the cheering section at a women’s Ultimate Frisbee tournament to root for her granddaughter who plays for the University of Virginia. She was also excited to see her alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University, take the field later in the day. When VCU emerged, though, she was surprised to see the team in mismatched shirts instead of proper jerseys, like her granddaughter’s team wore. They all had to wear red bandanas so they could identify one another on the field.
“I thought, ‘We can do better than this,’” says Bernal, who is eager to assist wherever she sees a need. “I went up to them during a break in play before the game was even over. I told the team, ‘I’m here to root for UVA because of my granddaughter, but I’m a VCU grad. How can I help?’”
Bernal had recently learned about the VCU Women’s Impact Network and contacted them to find out how she might help fund new jerseys. Amy Gray Beck, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’19), executive director, affinity programs, connected Bernal with VCU Recreation and Well-Being in the Division of Student Affairs. After meeting with the RecWell staff and the captain of the women’s
Ultimate Frisbee Club team, jerseys were designed by a member of the team. The RecWell staff
assisted the team to connect with an approved vendor. Bernal gave $2,000, which provided $1,800 to VCU RecWell to support the women’s Ultimate Frisbee team and $200 to support WIN’s programming and secure her membership to the group.
When the new club sports season started in January, each player was outfitted with two new jerseys, one for home games and one for away games.
“They emailed me some pictures of the team in their new jerseys,” Bernal says. “I’m always showing them off to people. I tried to go to one of their practices to see them in person, but they were the same night as the class I was taking at VCU, so Amy helped arrange a time for me to meet with the team captain to see the jerseys and hear about their season.”
You’ll find Bernal — wearing her Egyptian Building pendant and her WIN logo scarf — first in line to make a difference, whether that’s through supporting the scholarship she established in the VCU School of Nursing almost 30 years ago, the new collection of medical texts that VCU Libraries is preserving or a club sports team that needs outfitting.
After two degrees and 43 years working for VCU Health System, Bernal’s VCU pride is strong, and she hopes to keep it that way. She is already looking for sponsors who can help her make sure the team has jerseys in the years to come.
“I did some smart things when I was younger, and now I can help more than I ever thought I’d be able to,” Bernal says. “I want to give back because VCU was so good to me. Now it’s my time to pay it forward.”