Fitzpatrick enjoying success off the court

Shae Fitzpatrick has gone from setting picks to hopefully one day setting public policy.The former Lynnfield High basketball star graduated from Brown University this past spring and then it was off to Washington, DC to start her new job as a legislative correspondent to US Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA).”This has definitely been a great experience,” Fitzpatrick said. “Every day is very demanding. There’s a lot going on. It’s an unbelievably fast pace, which is what I like about it. You don’t know what’s coming at you and that makes it interesting.”As a basketball player at Lynnfield High, Fitzpatrick won just about every award out there. She wrapped up her career as the school’s all-time leading scorer (boys and girls) with 1,728 points. Fitzpatrick took her talents to Brown University, where she played for three years before a nagging knee injury prompted her to give up basketball her senior year.Even during her playing years at Brown, Fitzpatrick seized every opportunity possible to pave the way to her post-college career. During the summer of 2008 she went to New Delhi, India, as part of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program. The following summer she interned in New York City with the United Nations Children’s Fund and in the fall of 2009, she spent the first semester of her senior year studying abroad at Stockholm University in Stockholm, Sweden.Shortly after Brown won the special election for the late Edward M. Kennedy’s Senate seat, Fitzpatrick received a call with a job offer. She had become acquainted with the Brown family when she played AAU basketball with Brown’s daughter, Ayla, who played at Boston College.”It was an exciting call to take,” Fitzpatrick said. “I knew by February what I would be doing after graduation.”Fitzpatrick said she really enjoys living in Washington, DC.”I enjoy working with policies and legislation and having the opportunity to read and discuss issues with a lot of very, very bright people,” she said. “There’s something different about working down here.”Although you don’t have to be able to hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer to succeed in life, Fitzpatrick said basketball has played a big part in shaping her life.”Basketball has played a tremendous role in my life,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’m so thankful for all the opportunities I’ve had because of basketball. I’ve enjoyed every one of them ? I can’t tell you how many times I recall playing in the FleetCenter.”Fitzpatrick has one bit of advice to student-athletes who are weighing their college options.”Pick a school you’re going to be happy at, regardless of your sport,” she said. “I really tried to do that. I fell in love with Brown on day one. The learning environment is very unique there.”Fitzpatrick said sports opened a lot of doors for her and the lessons she learned from her coaches and her teammates stayed with her.”You get into one thing and it leads to the next. I tried to see what different things I could get involved in,” she said.Fitzpatrick said going to India with the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program led to her interest in sport policy and that made her want to study policy in a broader sense.”Now I’m working in the Senate building. It all kind of weaved together into a thread. It will be kind of interesting to see what comes next,” Fitzpatrick said.