Wrestling Her Way to Harvard

Lauralee Summer '98 never had many toys. But the girl who moved 20 times before her mid-teens did have a lot of cardboard boxes, which she flipped over, creating an instant set of "desks" for her own small school.

Those games of school, and the mental toughness she developed as one of the top six women wrestlers in the nation, will serve Summer well in her planned career: teaching at-risk kids in an urban, public junior high school.

"I really believe they need good teachers," says the woman who freely admits that she "hated junior high" but wants to better the experience for others.

Her mother, Elizabeth Summer, who helped her kindergartner put up signs advertising her "school," is understandably unsurprised to learn that her daughter wants to teach.

"To her, it was really serious," she says about her daughter's earliest teaching efforts, noting that neighborhood kids were ready and willing to sit at those desks.

But before she heads off to grab a masters of education to add to her A.B. in children's studies (a special concentration she designed herself), Summer will take next year off to expand her creative thesis into a book on her childhood, including the periods during which she was homeless.

For most of her life, Summer and her mother were on their own. When she was in the fourth and eighth grades, Summer and her mother were homeless.

Summer says her mother was always struggling to keep them afloat financially.

"The fact that she was there for me my whole life was really key. She always was teaching me things and listened to me when I was a kid," she says. "My mom's amazing."

Many people would use the word "amazing" to describe Summer, whose wide-ranging interests led one of her friends to do a photographic project for the Visual and Environmental Studies department, with captions from her ownwriting about homes and her experiences as awrestler.

However, the athletic and public service worldsare not the only realms in which Summer has beenactive at Harvard: she was also co-chair of theBisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender andSupporters' Alliance (BGLTSA).

During her tenure, she was known among themembers for her kindness and her tact, accordingto fellow board member and roommate of three yearsAlena J. Williams '98.

Williams, who notes that she and Summer havenever had a serious disagreement in three yearsrooming together, says Summer was a valuableaddition to the board.

"She was good at putting things inperspective," Williams says. "Some of us werehotheaded, and she was really calm."

However, Summer does have a breaking point, andwhen she reached it, Williams says the whole boardtook note and re-evaluated.

"At the point when Lauralee got mad, thingswere really, really bad," she laughs.

A Human Superwoman

Heading one of the 20 largest organizations atHarvard while training to be anationally-competitive wrestler and designing yourown concentration is the kind of resume mostHarvard students only associate with their mostdriven peers.

But looking back, Summer sees it differently.

"I wish I had acted with more self-confidence,"she says, talking about how hard it was for her toovercome a feeling that "I didn't deserve things."

Like most Harvard students, she talks about howshe needs to work at being calmer, and not gettingupset about dealing with relationships, gainingweight or not having money.

"She may seem like Superwoman...but she's morehuman than human," says Diane M. Hughes, Summer'sbest friend.

Hughes should know--she's been close to Summerthrough her successes, but also through the timesof insecurity and alienation that plague manyHarvard students.

One winter night in Summer's first year, shehit a low point. "Depressed [and] distraught,"Summers called Hughes.

"She was having trouble relating to people fromHarvard. We've come from similar backgroundseconomically," Hughes remembers. "That was beforeshe had much structure--she wasn't wrestling thatyear or anything--so one night, she insisted onleaving the dorm."

The two gathered up every blanket, sweater, hatand piece of warm clothing in the room, and madecamp in the Pit, curling up to sleep for a fewcold hours.

Though she makes it clear it's not somethingshe would ever do again, Summer says that nighthelped her re-center herself.

"I'll never forget it," Summer says. "It feltmuch freer. I could choose who I was. The sun roseand it was just better."

It continued to get better, Hughes says,D-13SUMMERCourtesy of Nadia CroesMORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN: Friends ofLAURALEE SUMMER '98 say that despite her manysuccesses, she keeps life well in perspective.

However, the athletic and public service worldsare not the only realms in which Summer has beenactive at Harvard: she was also co-chair of theBisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender andSupporters' Alliance (BGLTSA).

During her tenure, she was known among themembers for her kindness and her tact, accordingto fellow board member and roommate of three yearsAlena J. Williams '98.

Williams, who notes that she and Summer havenever had a serious disagreement in three yearsrooming together, says Summer was a valuableaddition to the board.

"She was good at putting things inperspective," Williams says. "Some of us werehotheaded, and she was really calm."

However, Summer does have a breaking point, andwhen she reached it, Williams says the whole boardtook note and re-evaluated.

"At the point when Lauralee got mad, thingswere really, really bad," she laughs.

A Human Superwoman

Heading one of the 20 largest organizations atHarvard while training to be anationally-competitive wrestler and designing yourown concentration is the kind of resume mostHarvard students only associate with their mostdriven peers.

But looking back, Summer sees it differently.

"I wish I had acted with more self-confidence,"she says, talking about how hard it was for her toovercome a feeling that "I didn't deserve things."

Like most Harvard students, she talks about howshe needs to work at being calmer, and not gettingupset about dealing with relationships, gainingweight or not having money.

"She may seem like Superwoman...but she's morehuman than human," says Diane M. Hughes, Summer'sbest friend.

Hughes should know--she's been close to Summerthrough her successes, but also through the timesof insecurity and alienation that plague manyHarvard students.

One winter night in Summer's first year, shehit a low point. "Depressed [and] distraught,"Summers called Hughes.

"She was having trouble relating to people fromHarvard. We've come from similar backgroundseconomically," Hughes remembers. "That was beforeshe had much structure--she wasn't wrestling thatyear or anything--so one night, she insisted onleaving the dorm."

The two gathered up every blanket, sweater, hatand piece of warm clothing in the room, and madecamp in the Pit, curling up to sleep for a fewcold hours.

Though she makes it clear it's not somethingshe would ever do again, Summer says that nighthelped her re-center herself.

"I'll never forget it," Summer says. "It feltmuch freer. I could choose who I was. The sun roseand it was just better."

It continued to get better, Hughes says,D-13SUMMERCourtesy of Nadia CroesMORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN: Friends ofLAURALEE SUMMER '98 say that despite her manysuccesses, she keeps life well in perspective.