In these uneasy, topsy-turvy times, alumni stories like this one winds up consoling us more than vaccine updates. Despite all the challenges this past year, Taylor Duhart is thriving at the University of Connecticut where she is on track to earn a master's degree in Sport Management in a few months
Taylor received her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science from UConn in 2019.
UConn’s Sport Management Program is designed to provide an educational experience that includes an effective blend of classroom, research and field experiences in an effort to provide each student the opportunity to gain disciplinary knowledge and to develop the necessary skills to be successful in any area of the sport industry.
And what field experiences can surpass UConn sports? The UConn women’s basketball team is looking NCAA Tournament-ready over its last few conference games, a positive sign for Geno Auriemma with March right around the corner. Meanwhile, the Huskies were one of the few football teams to play their 2020 spring session before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down sports across the country. Months later, they were one of three FBS teams to opt out of the season. In exchange for competition, the fall was spent practicing, conditioning and lifting.
In addition to her studies, Taylor is an Intern for the UConn Athletics Department and a Program Leader with UConn Husky Sport. As such, Taylor is creating a Preventative Maintenance Plan for all of the athletic facilities on UConn's campus. This includes preparing maintenance plans and cost analyses. Also, as a UConn Athletics Student Worker, Taylor helps her supervisors ensure the upkeep of the athletic facilities and equipment on campus. Her work includes supporting athletic games and events. As a Program Leader with Husky Sport, Taylor teaches disadvantaged elementary school students in Hartford physical literacy, nutrition, and life skills while supporting them academically as well.
As an undergraduate researcher, Taylor worked with the UConn Korey Stringer Institute on a project with the US Army.
As a graduate scholar-practitioner and a researcher, Taylor is gaining the knowledge, skills, and values to help lead the sport industry in the 21st century. Taylor is someone who envisions sport as a vehicle for positive social outcomes.
From an early age, Carver provided Taylor with solidity and engagement, a means of exploring the world’s complexities while also whirring along with a certain lightness.
Taylor’s twin sister, Kimberly, was the first to be profiled in this series on Carver alumni.
Taylor was a member of the McMahon High School girls’ varsity basketball team and graduated among the top students in her class. Taylor is someone who understands that sport medals aren't really made of gold; they are made of determination and a hard-to-find alloy called resilience. For Taylor, sport does not build character as much as it reveals it.
Taylor shares, “I was in YDP at McMahon High School and I was a counselor at the Carver day summer camp at Columbus Magnet School. Through YDP I was able to become confident in who I was and the experience helped me see that the mistakes I made did not have to be my future.
I encourage Carver’s students today to know that it’s okay to not know your path yet. The path we do take, even if we don’t use directly what we have learned, the process itself still helps us get to where we are going. I went to UConn to be a physical therapist, and although I’m not any longer intending to pursue that profession, that knowledge and experience helped be grow and to guide me into something I was more passionate about.”
We are not surprised that even in this most difficult of years Taylor’s work ethic and passion for life are lasting and true. The distilled essence of her character and what she accomplishes each day inspires us all.
Hour photo / Erik Trautmann The top academic seniors in Brien McMahon’s Class of 2015; clockwise from left: Maria Alegria, Gabrielle Ganino, Taylor Duhart, Taber McFarlan, Edwin Owolo, Juan Arenas, Olivia Clark, Tom Skiper, Olivia Haskell, Kimberly Duhart and Chris Gatt.