Dr. Autumn Graves and Heather O'Reilly
photo by ussoccer.com
GPS Head of School Dr. Autumn Graves is officially a part of the U.S Women's National Team's #SheBelieves campaign. Before the World Cup soccer champions defeated Costa Rica in front of a record crowd of 20,535 at Finley Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 19, Dr. Graves met with USWNT midfielder Heather O'Reilly and hosted a photographer and director of communications from the U.S. Soccer organization on the GPS campus.
In a Q&A with USWNT midfielder Heather O’Reilly, Dr. Graves answered Ms. O’Reilly’s questions and posed some of her own to the member of the world champion team. Their conversation ranged from questions about the all-girl atmosphere at GPS and the increased opportunities for leadership to the confidence and healthy risk-taking that happens when a girl participates in athletics. The Q&A is found here.
According to a USWNT player, the #SheBelieves initiative allows the team “to…encourage [girls] to set high goals and strive to reach them no matter what the obstacles.” On the USWNT webpage, Dr. Graves is described as “guiding 600 students into positions of leadership through academics, extracurricular activities and athletics.”