Eighteen Notre Dame student-athletes celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) Wednesday at St. Joseph’s Academy by participating in the annual Girls Independent Schools League (GISL) event along with student-athletes from the other eight GISL high schools.
The day began with a panel discussion followed by three breakout sessions involving various aspects of topics related to girls and women in sports. The day concluded as each GISL school presented a 2025 GISL Outstanding Sportsmanship Award to one of its student-athletes.
The star-studded discussion panel featured Kristin Fokl-Kaburakis, former St. Joseph’s Academy and Stanford University standout in volleyball and basketball, Lori Chalupny-Lawson, the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at Maryville University who attended Nerinx Hall and the University of North Carolina before playing for the United States Olympic Team and the US Women’s National Team and Annie Reis, a former college basketball player and head coach and the current Associate Director of Athletics for Administration at St. Louis University.
Current and recent female college athletes presented in a breakout session about the demands of being a college athlete and there were breakout sessions concerning mental health and social media.
Congratulations to Morgan Stokes, the Notre Dame 2025 GISL Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winner. Morgan’s hard work, dedication, success and leadership on and off the field earned her the prestigious honor.