Sam Moss may have recently graduated from Kalamazoo College with degrees in economics and Spanish and finished her collegiate softball career, but she's not quite ready to stop playing. Moss, a pitcher and shortstop on the Kalamazoo College softball team for the past four years, is heading to Sweden to play for Karlskoga during the summer before returning to Kalamazoo to begin working.
Although she is concluding her career on the field, Moss' time on the softball team was meaningful enough for her to call it "such an incredible learning experience."
"I have grown in so many ways from being a wide-eyed 18-year-old wanting to make an immediate impact on the program to leaving with two successful seasons under our belt. The most important thing I have learned is to be a good teammate and friend to those around me. Because of that, I have made amazing connections with my teammates and coaches, and that is what I have gained the most from being an athlete at K."
Moss left her mark on the program by leading the pitching staff in appearances, wins, ERA, complete games, innings pitched, and strikeouts the past two seasons. Offensively, she led the lineup in home runs and RBI. Moss entered the record books in her final season by breaking the single-season wins and RBI records.
"K has provided me with the toolset required to succeed in any aspect of life after college," said Moss, adding, "I have learned how to think for myself and collaboratively while simultaneously balancing many responsibilities. While I might not know exactly what my professional life will look like in the future, I am confident in my abilities to figure it out because of the skills I have developed in college."
Moss, who has her eyes on working in sports for her career, used her internships and senior integrated project to help build her resume. The internships with Building Blocks of Kalamazoo and Discover Kalamazoo helped her gain experience in community building and sales. Then, her SIP was within the economics department, where she developed an econometric course to produce the SIP titled "Predicting Post-Season Success in the MLB through Econometric Practices" and received honors.
"My most meaningful experience at K has been being a peer leader for the past two incoming freshmen classes," continued Moss. "Going into my junior year, I had known very few people on campus due to the pandemic, so I threw myself out there and applied to be a peer leader. Unknowingly, I opened up to meeting many great people and opportunities to grow my leadership capacities. From that experience, I learned so much about myself and formed so many meaningful connections."
This experience helped Moss realize that it is essential for incoming freshmen to make their athletic experience whatever they want. There can always be different perspectives than previous classes, and combining athletics with other clubs on campus can be beneficial.
Moss acknowledged one of her favorite professors, "My Most Valuable Professor was Dr. Darshana Udayanganie, and I am reiterating once again my appreciation for her throughout my time at K. She is such an amazing person and professor who genuinely cares for her students and goes above and beyond for them."
Moss, who prepped at Dunwoody H.S. (Peachtree Corners, Ga.), made a point to express gratitude to her softball coaches and professors for playing an influential role in her becoming a K student-athlete.