“Happiness is Contagious”: Kate Longo Driven to Promote Student-Athlete Mental Wellness

Kate Longo found field hockey before she ever realized she was searching for it. “It started when I was in second grade,” she said. “I played every sport before then—soccer, gymnastics, dance, swimming, basketball—but field hockey was the one sport that I always wanted to do.” From the beginning, her enthusiasm was constant. She chased clinics, traveled for tournaments, and kept returning to the sport that never lost its pull. “By eighth grade going into high school, I knew this was something I wanted to do at the next level.” Growing up in North Carolina, where field hockey isn’t widespread,…