As I was going through the post-game high-fives with Tennessee this weekend in Palm Springs, I noticed a familiar face perched on the grass hill down the right field line. She was all decked out in her USSSA Pride gear, but I'd know her silhouette anywhere. It wasn't too long ago that I stepped on campus as a freshman 3,000 miles away from home, and Lauren Lappin was our volunteer assistant coach.

Editor's Note: Northwestern women's swimmers Jackie Powell and Megan Goss spearheaded the inaugural "Breaststroke4BreastCancer" relay to raise funds for local cancer research. In an incredible display of support and organizational prowess, the first-time event filled 17 lanes at NU's Norris Aquatics Center with more than 150 swimmers who combined to tally 70,000 yards (or 39 miles) of swimming in just one hour. NU's Beta Fraternity won a trophy with the most total yards: 5,350. In addition, special guest Joan Zielinski, a Northwestern professor and invitee of Wildcats' junior swimmer Becca Soderholm, shared her experience with breast cancer with the crowd during a fun, education and powerful evening. Read on for Kristin Scharkey's perspective on how much the event meant to her team and one softball Wildcat in particular.

On October 24, dozens of Northwestern student-athletes swam in Northwestern Women's Swimming and Diving's fundraiser "Breaststroke4BreastCancer." Our own team swam over 4,000 yards in one hour, raising money for breast cancer research and contributing to the university's final total in which the swimming program more than doubled their target goal. 

"Today, we are going to learn pronouns," I announce to the students before me.

It's my first time teaching at the MOC, a special session about writing. I've got to admit, I'm a little nervous, but I go with what I know and relay all of the tips that I've picked up as a writer over the last few years. After forty-five minutes of tools to make our writing smoother- namely transitional words and pronouns- we break for lunch and I breathe a sigh of relief that I didn't freeze up and forget my lesson.

When lunch ends, I grab a notebook and pen and begin the 15-minute trek up the road through Musanze for a little learning of my own. Tucked away in a small row of buildings off the main road in Musanze is a 10×10 room filled with vibrant paintings and intricate sculptures. A zebra with brilliant black and white stripes and an oversized portrait of Paul Kagame in front of the Rwandan flag are just two of a dozen pieces that cover the walls, while sand-colored sculptures that swirl upward from the floor are all over the ground. The room is called 'Volcanoes Arts' and serves as a studio and shop for local artists Jean Pierre (John Peter) Masambuko and Jean d'amour (John of Love) Ntihemuka. It also serves as my own personal Kinyarwanda training center.

The first time I met Masambuko and Ntihemuka was by chance on a morning walk down the road. When Masambuko and I ran into each other and realized we shared a mutual enthusiasm for learning the other's culture, we bonded instantly. His English is above average and my Kinyarwanda is sub-par; it's a match made in heaven.

Continue reading at Kristin's Rhythms of Rwanda blog!

Editor's Note: The original version of this blog was submitted for publication in Softball Magazine. It is reprinted here today in honor of Northwestern's Senior Weekend, which begins at 2 p.m. CT Friday, May 11, 2012, against Illinois at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. The three member senior class will be honored prior to Saturday's 1 p.m. CT series finale.

As soon as Adrienne Monka was old enough to attend preschool, her mother excitedly dressed her up with a bow in her hair and sent her off.

At the end of the day, when she arrived to pick her daughter up, Elba Monka found that her preciously placed bow was gone from Adrienne's head and instead, lay in her cubby. When the preschooler explained that it had simply fallen off, her mother thought nothing of it and sent her back the next day with the bow firmly fastened atop her head. Come pick-up time, however, it was again found lying lonely in the cubby.

Editor's Note: Northwestern will honor Katie Crandol prior to its noon CT first pitch Sunday, April 29, when it takes on Ohio State in a Big Ten doubleheader at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.

The first time I met Katie Crandol, it was a sunny Saturday afternoon after our annual open practice. A 16-year-old cancer survivor and aspiring college softball player, Katie and her family had become the newest additions to our team through the Friends of Jaclyn program. As we shared a meal and exchanged stories about our season and their journey, it was apparent to each and every one of us that we were blessed with the opportunity to get know to someone with such a unique perspective on not only softball but also life itself.

On Tuesday, March 20, after Northwestern softball run-ruled Massachusetts and Hartford during its Spring Break 2012 trip to Tampa and Clearwater, Fla., the Wildcats headed to George M. Steinbrenner Stadium to catch a New York Yankees spring training game and meet Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

If I could've somehow frozen that moment in between fly balls, I would've. That moment when I stood in centerfield and gazed around at the rest of my teammates scattered throughout the field in front of me. That moment when I could turn my head and see smiling fans to my right and smiling fans to my left, dozens decked out in purple and wearing the same logo across their chest as was across mine.

Hey 'Cats fans! This week I got to sit down with Assistant Director of Sports Performance Tyler Jorgensen, the newest addition to our sports performance team and Northwestern Softball's personal coach! We've already had three great weeks of work with Tyler and are looking forward to what we will accomplish with him over the next year!

We have a new group of National Pro Fastpitch Champions.

And former Wildcats Robin Thompson and Tammy Williams are among the heralded.

On Sunday, Aug. 21, the Chicago Bandits beat the USSSA Florida Pride 10-3 in the second game of a best-of-three series to win their second postseason title in franchise history. Williams went 1-for-4 at the plate and scored a run, while Thompson also scored after being inserted into the game to pinch run. Former Northwestern softball coach Lauren Lappin also played second base in the game for the Pride squad.