Making an Impact On and Off the Ice

She has been a part of two championship teams for the Big Green women's hockey program, but senior defenseman Sue Schmitz has also made an impact away from the sticks and pucks of her favorite pastime.

A native of Brookfield, Wis., Schmitz came to Dartmouth because, like most student-athletes, it was the place for her and she just knew it from the start.

"I got a really good sense that this was the place for me and this place fit me very well," said Schmitz. "I knew the academics were great and the hockey program was traditionally a great program. The team was very welcoming and everything just felt right and a perfect fit."

She was also looking into Princeton and Colgate, along with Division III traditional programs in Amherst and Middlebury. She said the coaching staff had her on campus and they said if this is the right fit for you, we would love you to come here and be a part of our team.

Since her arrival on campus she has been a part of two ECAC Hockey Tournament championships, an ECAC Hockey Regular Season championship and an Ivy League title. Schmitz has also appeared in three NCAA Tournaments, including last season at Wisconsin. In addition, she has been a great student-athlete that has represented Dartmouth well away from the ice.

Schmitz is a psychology major and has used her tools as an artist as well to combine the two in her endeavors off the ice. Last summer she received a Dartmouth Partners in Community Service grant to support her internship at RCS Enpowers, Inc. The mission of this non-profit organization in Wisconsin is to rehabilitate disabled individuals and provide them with the skills and confidence necessary to work and live happily in society.

"I always wanted to have a career in psychology," said Schmitz, "so I started researching opportunities and came across art therapy. I applied for funding from the Tucker Foundation to support my internship this summer. I got a lot of experience through the internship and getting the ability to work with different populations."

Art has always been a passion for the senior defenseman. Since high school she has been involved in many art projects in the city of Milwaukee. She created a portfolio piece that sits on permanent display at the children's hospital and did a performance piece at the Haggerty Museum. In the piece, she combined her two favorite hobbies, art and hockey.

Schmitz got a 20 x 20 pieced of canvas and dipped pucks in red, yellow and blue paints and let her participants take of the rest. "They got to stick handle the painted puck over the canvas, which created a lot of interesting marks on the surface and I actually had many people jump in and help out. "

She did something similar with her internship last summer where participants came into the studio and passed the puck, which was dipped in paint, back and forth, creating an interesting piece.

Schmitz began lacing up the skates at age four, but hockey didn't come around until age seven. Apparently, there was a sibling rivalry going on in the Schmitz household when Sue was in her early years and because of that hockey became a passion.

"I decided to try it because my brother gave it a shot and didn't like it," said Schmitz, "so I wanted to try it and be better at it than he was."
Unlike some of her teammates, Schmitz had the ability to start in girls' hockey instead of with the boys and has been playing ever since.

She has also got a lot of support from her family, including her parents Dave and Kathy Schmitz, who you can see most home weekends sitting in the stands at Thompson Arena.

"They come up to a fair amount of games," said Schmitz. "Majority of the time they come here, but they also make it to many away weekends. My older brother is 27, but I am the youngest in the family, so they have more time and more motivation to come see me."

Last season, the Schmitz family and Sue's friends didn't have a long drive to see one of their own play in an NCAA Tournament game. The Big Green made the tournament thanks to a 6-1 win over Rensselaer to capture its fourth ECAC Hockey Tournament title and got a date with top-ranked Wisconsin. So Schmitz got a chance to play in her home state for the first time in her collegiate career.

"Really cool to go back to Wisconsin. I had a lot of friends and family come to the game and watch," said Schmitz. "It felt awesome to have a lot of fans come and support you in a place away from Dartmouth. Especially since we don't play in the Midwest a lot, it was neat because it was where I started playing hockey and developed a lot of my skills and my love for the game."

She also got to play against many former teammates and campers that were on the Badgers, who eventually won the national championship.

"I played with Rachel Bible and Emily Kranz, but also against them and at camp," said Schmitz. "It was a small community that I grew up in and a lot of people play hockey. It was nice to be able to compete against them because I rarely get the opportunity to because they are not in our league."

In her collegiate career, Schmitz has appeared in 112 games, which is third on the team among seniors. She has posted one goal and six assists for seven points. This year has been more of an adjustment for the defender as she is the lone senior on the blueline unit and it has been a change of pace.

"It has definitely been an adjustment," said Schmitz. "Throughout my whole career here I have been used to having many upperclassmen defense, who are really good role models and very skilled players."

Now she has become a role model for the younger group. "Being the only senior D, I work with them to get them play to there potential and help them out with experience with what I have learned and what they haven't picked up on yet."

"It's tough being the lone senior in the defensive corps," said Dartmouth head coach Mark Hudak. "Sue has done a great job of continuing to work hard this year at improving her own play and setting the example for the others 'that no matter what year you are, senior or freshman, you have to work hard to improve in order to help the team.'"

Schmitz has made strides with the game she loves, coming to a school with a great tradition and a winning attitude, she has made an impact both here and in her home of Wisconsin that will reach farther than her achievements on the ice.