LYNN — When first coming to St. Mary’s, senior Pej’ae Parent was willing to sacrifice playing her chosen sport of field hockey in order to get the education she wanted. But when the Spartans started a field hockey team of their own her junior year, both became a possibility.
“I had played at my previous school, but obviously St. Mary’s didn’t offer it and I was willing to give it up because this was where I wanted to be for school, I enjoyed it here,” Parent, an Ipswich native, said. “Then Coach Victoria (Ault) and the rest of the staff were able to bring the sport here and I’ve been grateful for that ever since.”
St. Mary’s started out as a club team before competing in its inaugural varsity season this past fall, and Parent — along with a group of other seniors — have been at the center of it.
“I think it was really fun and exciting for the seniors to be a part of that this year,” Parent said. “We were able to continue the program at another level this past season and really set the stones in place for the program’s future.”
And Parent’s time on the field isn’t quite done yet ethier, with the midfielder/forward signing her National Letter of Intent Thursday to play field hockey at American International College (AIC) in Springfield this fall.
After attending a showcase at Brown University, Parent realized she had plenty of options to play at the next level, but AIC stood out from the pack.
“I went to the showcase at Brown and it was only a couple hours, but after that a bunch of emails started flowing in and I realized I had the chance to play in college,” Parent said. “I actually toured (AIC) a while back in July. It’s not too far from home but it’s far enough for me.
“Their field hockey coach (Rhonwen Peters) gave me the tour,” Parent said. “She showed me around, I got a chance to see some of the opportunities they have there and she let me know about a bunch of things the team does, and it was exactly what I was looking for.”
At St. Mary’s, Parent — who also plays basketball for the Spartans — left her mark on the young field hockey program and was actually one of the first students Ault looked to when starting the team.
“I knew she had previous experience playing but had to give it up, so right when we started the team I asked her to give it a second shot,” Ault said. “She did and she was tremendous.
“As far as a leader, she’s everything a coach could ask for,” Ault added. “If I needed anything related to the team, it was a priority for her. And with the pandemic putting things in question this fall, I know she ran a lot of workouts on her own over the summer. Pej’ae is a huge reason we’ve had the early success we’ve had.”
Parent’s talent on the field was also something that stood out to Ault over the past few years.
“As a midfielder and a forward she has one of the strongest drives and dangerous shots I’ve ever seen,” Ault said. “She’s a fighter, she has the stone-cold face of an athlete and it’s been a dream coaching her.”
The praise comes both ways, with Parent giving Ault and St. Mary’s a lot of credit for helping her find her way back onto the field.
“Coach Ault is so amazing for the program,” Parent said. “She cared about each and every girl on the team. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to navigate being on the team and school work and be here without her help.”
