It’s been 50 years since Title IX–the colloquial name for the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program receiving federal funding–was officially enacted. Since then, countless women, especially those in the athletic realm, have felt the effects and benefits of the law and seen a growing number of opportunities become available to them.
Three such women are current Forester seniors. October Heffner, Vanessa Ordaz, and Paityn Tabor all work in the athletic department at Lake Forest College in various roles. Ordaz and Tabor are also student-athletes; they’re memebers of the swimming and diving team and the women’s soccer team, respectively.
Heffner works as the director of football operations and chief of staff for football. Ordaz also works with the football team as their director of analytics. Tabor’s responsibilities in the athletic department include working with the assistant director of marketing, Lou Groce, on videos for the department’s YouTube Channel, website, and social media outlets. She interviews various athletes across all sports for pre- and post-game talks.
Heffner’s job “really boils down to planning logistical needs of the football team and managing the team’s student-workers,” she said. “A typical day could be as laid back as printing address labels and making Gatorade packets or as chaotic as booking meals for 120 people in another state four days in advance, running through planning itineraries, and booking buses.”
When asked if she’s worked any additional jobs in sports, Heffner shared, “I’ve been a riding instructor and barn manager at John White Stables, a nationally accomplished equine show barn owned by AHA Hall of Famer Lisa Jo White. This past summer, I also had the great opportunity to travel to a number of amazing football programs across the country and assist with recruitment camps and even Northwestern’s Mega Camp which was so fun and insightful to see how different programs operate at different levels.”
Ordaz expanded on her role as director of analytics by sharing, “My duties include writing weekly reports on the following data collected throughout the season: Riddell Helmet InSite Technology (which is a sensor each player has in their helmet and collects data on magnitude, location, and timestamp of a hit) and CATAPULT GPS Monitors (which measures distance, speed, athlete work, power, and other important metrics that measure how hard an athlete works and how efficient this athlete is while working out)."
In addition to working with Groce, Tabor added, “I also do the weekly Coach’s Show with Coach Catanzaro, where I interview him each week to discuss the football team’s previous and upcoming games.
“Over the summer, I was a Project Coordinator for GALvanize where I helped organize the logistics for each bootcamp and created content to help grow the company, as well,” Tabor went on. GALvanize was founded by NFL sideline reporter Laura; it’s a company for women pursuing careers in sports and puts on bootcamps in conjunction with various NFL teams and is part of their rookie development programs.
All three women plan to pursue careers in athletics and sports after graduation. Heffner plans to continue working in football as a director of on-campus recruitment or football operations. “Football has become a home for me, and I can’t imagine leaving the sport, most certainly not now when women are beginning to truly be accepted in the sport at all levels,” she said.
Ordaz plans to pursue employment with Riddell, where she’s “been indirectly working for the past two years.” She wants to continue collecting data and doing research on how to develop equipment to make the game of football safer while still being enjoyable to play and watch.
Tabor said, “It is my dream to be a sideline reporter in the NFL. I hope to attain a job as a reporter for a sports team or television network once I graduate.”
Title IX has played a direct role in all three women’s lives, especially as they’ve pursued their collegiate athletic careers, worked with and in sports, and now as they continue to look forward at their post-graduate lives.
“Title IX is something I don’t have to think of often and never even knew about before college, but I’ve been involved in sports for as long as I can remember and for me that’s a privilege,” said Heffner. “Although I still hope for our society to fully shift their gendered perspective on sports, I am so thankful to be a part of a generation granted the right to play and work in whatever sports we choose. I have been given resources to connect with women in all divisions of football who choose to be mentors and for that I can only be thankful for them and the coaches from Lake Forest College Football who thought to provide me with these opportunities.”
“Title IX has played an incredible role in creating a welcoming environment where I can get into the best shape of my life participating in a sport I love,” said Ordaz. In the world of football, Coach Catanzaro was very excited to have me begin working for the football team solely based on the fact that I had a skill set he greatly felt his program needed to be successful. He has given me the opportunity to be involved in a male dominant sport and make incredible contributions to improving the sport.”
“I believe that Title XI has played an instrumental role in both my life as a student-athlete and as a young woman working in sports,” said Tabor. “Without Title IX, my experience as a college soccer player would probably not be nearly as rewarding. Even more so, without Title IX, my dream to be an NFL reporter would not be feasible nor possible. While I still believe there is a long way to go, Title XI has allowed women to get their foot in the door of the sports world, break numerous glass ceilings, and continue to take it by storm."
