Difference Maker

The score was 0-0 late in the second half when women’s soccer head coach Alexandra (Eckhardt) Wilson ’08 subbed in Hannah Guidi ’23, a first-year student at the time. The Skyhawks were playing The College of St. Rose, in Albany, New York, Guidi’s hometown. Four rows of the bleachers were packed with family and childhood friends, excited to see Guidi play in a college game. “Go out there and be the difference maker,” Wilson said to the nervous midfielder.

Guidi’s first touch of the ball was a cross towards the St. Rose end line. She had a good feeling after she hit it, which was confirmed when she saw forward Camryn Thompson ’22 fly in, head the ball and score. Guidi was momentarily stunned.

While that pass and that goal are etched in Guidi’s mind, it was the moment after that left an indelible mark. “As our team celebrated, I looked over at the sidelines. My dad had run down from the bleachers and was as close to the field as possible. He probably would’ve run onto the field if it wasn’t for my mom holding him back,” she recalls. “They both had tears in their eyes. Right then, I knew that all the years they had sacrificed, taking me to and from soccer and allowing me to pursue my dreams, were worth it.”

That support—from her family, friends and coach—continues to sustain Guidi and has enabled her to be a leader on two different fields. Three years after that game, Guidi served as team captain this past fall. She is also the commander of her ROTC unit, a pursuit about which she is equally passionate.

Following in her older sister’s footsteps, Guidi felt called to military service. “Jeannette was part of ROTC in college, and I watched her grow into a strong representation of a woman in the Army,” says Guidi, who enrolled in U.S. Army ROTC during her first year at Stonehill. In addition to courses for her criminology major, Guidi also takes military science courses.

This past summer, she spent six weeks in cadet training in Fort Knox, Kentucky. After graduation, Guidi plans to attend law school and then serve four years as an active-duty officer in the Army, with the hope of being accepted into the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG).

“Growing up, I had coaches who doubted—and I sometimes doubted—if I had the ability, skill, size or speed to play at the collegiate level. I ended up at Stonehill for reasons beyond soccer, that I did not fully realize until I was here,” Guidi says. “I’ve been able to play soccer, be an ROTC cadet and pursue my dreams beyond college. Many other coaches told me I had to pick one or the other. But here I was never told that I had to pick or choose between the things I am passionate about.”