Photo courtesy of Joe Maiorana
Ellen Monahan, a New Albany resident and junior at Columbus School for Girls, has lived in two states, has two brothers, has attended two different all-girls schools, and plays two positions in lacrosse for two different teams. Yet, out of all the schools recruiting her to play college lacrosse, there was only one true fit: Boston University.
Monahan is a standout women’s lacrosse player with honors such as the Columbus Dispatch Athlete of the Week, the Under Armor All America-Midwest Team in 2017 and 2018, the Ohio representative for the first ever Women’s Professional Lacrosse League Future’s Summit in 2018, and MVP of her 2018 CSG varsity team. Monahan also holds the CGS record for goals in a season with 84.
As a result, many teams came calling last Sept. 1, the date when she made contact with college coaches and could verbally commit to a school.
“My goal had always been to find the right school that also has the best fit for me athletically,” she says. “I never wanted to commit to a school just to be on a Division I team - it had to be a perfect match.”
Monahan’s family – consisting of her mom, her dad, an older brother who graduated from The Ohio State University and another who will also graduate from OSU this spring – moved from Ohio to Virginia and then back to Ohio, settling in New Albany during the summer of 2015 just as Monahan was entering eighth grade. Prior to eighth grade, she attended an all-girls independent school in Cleveland, so CSG made sense, as Monahan explains.
Photo courtesy of Ben Simon
“I loved the single-gender education. I understood that attending an extremely rigorous school like CSG would put more pressure on me with my out-of-school activities, particularly lacrosse, but it would be worth it since I enjoy challenging myself in the classroom as well as other aspects of my life.”
Monahan has challenged herself with lacrosse since she began playing in second grade.
“My lacrosse career has been a long journey, with hundreds of hours traveling, working out, doing stick work, along with attending college clinics, elite showcases and tournaments,” she explains, but she’s not complaining. “Although it has been a huge commitment and I have made many sacrifices, I wouldn’t trade anything for the time I’ve spent with lacrosse and the hundreds of friends I have made from all over the United States. I even had a teammate from New Zealand.”
The team aspect of lacrosse is important to Monahan, and she’s aware of the roles she and her teammates play for each other.
“I believe the most important part of being on a team means developing trust with others as well as allowing yourself to be vulnerable, make mistakes and learn from them,” she says.
She knows it isn’t always easy though, and that in order to grow as a team, each team member must hold herself accountable.
Photo courtesy of Ben Simon
“By taking yourself out of your own comfort zone, you grow and can share your experiences with teammates and help them grow, too.”
Before she trades the comforts of New Albany for the new challenges of Boston University, Monahan still has the remainder of her junior year and all of her senior year at CSG, where she is involved in far more than just lacrosse. In addition to playing both field hockey and basketball, Monahan’s influence on sports at her school extends beyond the playing field.
“I am also a member of the Columbus School for Girls Athletic Leadership Council, which is a group of student athletes chosen to participate in various leadership training programs, enhance the communication between sports teams, raise the visibility of our athletic programs, and provide community service opportunities,” she says.
Monahan also helps organize the Red Cross Blood Drive at her school, and, now that’s she’s 16, is looking forward to giving blood this year.
Once she arrives at Boston University in 2020, Monahan intends to study neuroscience or neurobiology, a field that has increasingly close ties to athletics.
“I am fascinated with the human brain and have participated in the Human and Cognitive Sciences Summer Institute at Ohio State. Boston University has a leading research facility for chronic traumatic encephalopathy which was definitely one of the deciding factors for my commitment there,” she says.
Photo courtesy of Ben Simon
Though Monahan says she felt right at home when she visited Boston University, she won’t be leaving New Albany and CSG behind entirely.
“I am really proud to be able to make an Ohio mark on the Boston University women’s lacrosse program,” she says.
Bob Valasek is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
