Costa Named Member of College Hockey for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

HANOVER, N.H. – Senior Jennifer Costa was named a founding member of the College Hockey for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion group.

Costa is part of a group of 27 people – athletes, coaches and administrators – representing the 11 Division I hockey conferences that began meeting over the fall of 2020 to get this movement off the ground.

"I want to share my experiences and raise awareness about social and racial injustices that exist in the game," Costa said. "Addressing these issues will allow us as a hockey community to educate one another and work to create a more inclusive culture that fully appreciates the multidimensional identities of each player."

Jennifer Flowers, Vice President and Women's Commissioner of the WCHA and the chair of the committee unveiled the initiative and the mission on Wednesday:

College Hockey for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is dedicated to creating positive cultural change across our sport through communication, education, allyship, and advocacy. Together we are working for a better tomorrow, one shift at a time.

That mantra – one shift at a time – reflects the group's determination to pursue the challenging and necessary work of creating positive cultural change, with a recognition that sometimes that change comes as accumulation of small steps.

Costa explained how she decided to get involved:

"Last year, after George Floyd was killed, I was heartbroken. It really opened my eyes to racial injustices happening in our country and how that can no longer be tolerated. It also made me reflect on my own culture and my own roots and growing up with a Black dad. I really understand the fears he has about being a Black man in America, and I share those fears with him. Going to school at Dartmouth and playing hockey, I started to lose sight of my Black culture and how I perceived myself. I attended protests and showed my support, and I did a lot of self-reflection. I realized that I needed to educate myself first about these injustices and that I had a personal responsibility to talk about these issues. Luckily, around that time, Jen Flowers had an idea to start a group and talk about these issues. In the group, we encourage each other to be bold and courageous because that's how you make change. It's been a wild ride. I've noticed that I have started training differently than I was before I joined this group. I have always been a hard worker, but I would train with the purpose of proving myself to others, showing that I could play Division I and that, although I may not be the most skilled, I would still try my hardest. Now, my motivation is different. I want to represent the Black community. I want to be an inspiration to all girls, but especially to Black girls."

There are educational resources available to anyone interested in knowing more about 4DEI here.

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