For recent graduate Taylor Coleman, stellar performance and well-being go hand in hand. While at the University of Richmond, Coleman played for the Spider soccer team, ran for the Spider track and field team in the off-season, and was involved in the chaplaincy.

In collaboration with her teammates, she helped foster a commitment to well-being by promoting mindfulness, meditation, and other strategies to help keep their bodies and minds in top shape on and off the field.

“I advocate for mental health because everybody deserves to have a sense of confidence and security,” Coleman said. “Mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness. Just like food is nutrition, what you tell yourself is your mental nutrition.”

That attitude helped her win the Presidential Citation Award, the Westhampton College Distinguished Leadership Award, and the Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award upon her graduation in May.

She says her involvement in so many areas on campus helped her branch out and meet other students she might not have otherwise. As a member of the leadership team for Kairos, a Christian service held weekly in the Cannon Memorial Chapel, she learned the importance of grounding herself in friendship and community.

“Saying hello to strangers, smiling, just saying ‘Hi’ can go a long way,” Coleman said.

Coleman’s passion for creating community and fostering positive attitudes didn’t stop there. She volunteered with Street Soccer, a monthly soccer practice with underrepresented elementary school students in the area. And she was the vice president of Green UR, which proposed the campus-wide composting initiative. She now heads to Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment to pursue a master’s of environmental management.