Rashi Goverdhanam ‘23 became interested in sports at a young age as her parents encouraged her to dive deeper into her passions. Goverdhanam began squash in sixth grade and was soon playing at the national level. She has continued growing her athletic career through thousands of hours of practicing and traveling across the country to compete in competitions. Goverdhanam’s hard work has finally paid off—she will be joining Yale’s Division I squash team while pursuing her passion for architecture in the fall of 2023.

What was the recruitment process like for you?

I was recruited very late. Usually student athletes get recruited around October through March [of junior year], but I was recruited in October of senior year. There’s only two spots in each college and during COVID, the international students were taking up spots for my class. But I trained hard, especially during my junior year, and finally, I was able to get recruited to Yale. I think the recruitment process can be challenging because you have to balance schoolwork and competitions (about two competitions a month that each take up three days a week). You are so stressed about playing well that you don’t have any time for your work because you start training for each tournament six weeks prior. Essentially, before you’re done with another tournament, you’re already starting for the one after that. 

Why did you end up choosing Yale?

I am interested in architecture and I hope to major in it. Cornell was my number one choice for the longest time, because Cornell’s architecture program is great and they also had a strong squash program. Unfortunately, Cornell didn’t work out. Yale is also an amazing school and it was definitely on my list. However, I didn’t want to reach for something that felt unattainable and then feel like I failed at something. But the opportunity came and I took it as soon as it did.

What are you excited for at Yale?

I’m so excited to be attending Yale this fall. I know some of the squash kids there already and I met the team and they’re all wonderful people. I did a camp at Cornell this summer and it really showed me that I love architecture, which I’ll be majoring in at Yale. I’m creative and mathematical, and it’s a perfect fit for me. I’m one of the lucky people who found out what I want to do before I even started college, but it might change, and that’s totally fine. I’m glad I have a path to start on. 

What advice would you give to underclassmen student-athletes who are also going through the recruitment process right now or about to go into it very soon?

I think my number one piece of advice would be to just be patient. Not everything is going to come as soon as you want it to come, and not everything is going to go the way you want it to go. Patience and hard work pays off. You shouldn’t give up on something just because it didn’t happen for you or everyone else has something and you don’t. That’s how I felt for the longest time, but when I committed as a student athlete, I really thought to myself, “Wow, my hard work paid off.” Don’t settle for something that you don’t really want, even if they’re amazing schools. I think my patience paid off and I was able to get a spot at a school that I think I’m going to enjoy. Yale is the perfect fit for me.