Introducing Sydney Moore: powerhouse athlete, Cornell University student, and a true game changer.
Moores journey into collegiate volleyball was a curveball.
The new road was rocky, marked by self-doubt, but she embraced the challenge.
Ryan Young/Cornell University / Design by Channing Smith
Her secret to success?
Its all about balance.
But Moores leadership doesnt end with her team.
Shes a vocal advocate for gender equality in sports, working passionately with Voice in Sport to drive change.
Her efforts have earned her accolades at the ESPYs and a platform to inspire future generations.
Sheryl Lee Ralph:So, Sydney Moore of Cornell University, why volleyball?
Sydney Moore:I actually started off playing basketball.
I grew up in a very athletic family.
My mom played pro basketball internationally.
I wanted to be just like her.
But around my eighth grade to freshman year of high school, I started getting burnt out.
I was playing for top programs, traveling all around the country at a very young age.
It became something I didnt want to do anymore.
I am a very analytical person.
And while basketball definitely has that, with volleyball, its built in.
Every single move you make is kind of a chess match.
There are few better feelings in the world than getting a big block or a kill.
So here you are at Cornell.
How does one who is a star athlete come to terms with balancing athletics and academics?
It definitely doesnt come easy.
I had to come to terms with the fact I was going to feel FOMO sometimes.
But sometimes things are going to fall off.
So maybe I wont get the sixth hour of studying this week.
Or you might have it all, but probably not all of it at the same time.
Im happy that you dont look at it as a sacrifice.
Im one of the captains on my team now.
I lead a group of advocates, high school and college girls, at the Voice in Sport Foundation.
So leadership is definitely a role that Im constantly in and Im expected to be in.
But When youre not around, what does your team do?
Oh, I like that.
And it fits so well for athletics, because Im only at Cornell for four years.
Next year Im gone.
So it doesnt matter how good of a captain I was right now, right?
That helps me a lot as well, because I have extremely high expectations of myself.
So I have to set that understanding: Maybe its not a failure; its just not yet.
No one can do a project all by yourself.
Its so true what youre saying.
They wouldnt give us a track team because no one was going to coach the girls track team.
And I just felt that was so unfair.
Why shouldnt we have a coach when we had so many girls that could really run.
And having a West Indian background; we had a lot of Jamaican girls ready to hit the track.
And I remember writing a letter to the board of regents saying, We want to train.
And the coach said, Well, Im not your coach, but you might train next to us.
So we had to listen to what their coach was telling the boys.
And do you know that from that time until now, Uniondale High School has an award-winning track team.
So when you say, What did Sydney Moore do?
What information did she share with me that Im still using?
You took the opportunity that you did have.
Thats a big part of advocacy for girls now.
But in the meantime, how can we prepare you?
But tell me exactly why doyouthink that you are aGlamourCollege Woman of the Year?
At Cornell Im the president of Women of Color Athletics.
Thats something Im extremely proud of.
So thats a lasting impact thats national and international.
Sydney Moore, Im very impressed by you.
Theres an old African saying: When people greet, they say, How are your children?
Weve had some wonderful conversation here.
But I have a very important question for you.
What does Sydney do for fun?
When Im at home, Im at the beach a lot.
I havent learned my lesson yet.
And then in Ithaca, the trend is going to the gorges, going to the waterfalls.
And then when its cold, and Im not going to go out, I love television.
What do you like to watch?
My favorite show of all time isScandal.
I could watch that over, back to back, forever.
I loveScandal,which I think its funny now working in DC so often.
I would say my next favorite show is probablyGossip Girl.
AndBlack Mirroras a psych major.
Im always watching that one.
And you get to call it studying, right?
Well, trust me, television can be quite a study in social matters.
But you just said something about working in Washington, DC, a lot.
What are you doing there?
Theres activity in place to verify that Title IX is being enforced in school.
I wish Title IX was around when I was going to school.
Im very proud of you and what you have achieved.
Youre asking the tough questions!
But there are things that you could do.
It doesnt have to be you being that leader or the thought provider.
you’re free to ask your school when the last time they did a Title IX evaluation was.
It doesnt have to be this big thing that you put in your Instagram bio.
you’ve got the option to just be an advocate every day.
