By Adam Levine
Sports Editor
Kaylee Beck
Kaylee Beck, 20, is a starting midfielder for the FSU field hockey team.
Beck, a child and family studies major, is a member of the Rams’ Class of 2025.
She said she either wants to work in a high school and help students with their Individualized Education Programs or work as a child specialist in a hospital, specifically with children diagnosed with terminal illnesses.
Originally from Tyngsboro, Beck said she started playing field hockey in sixth grade as a defender.
She said she played during all four of her years in high school.
Beck said she chose FSU because it has a good education program.
She said she talked to the former Head Coach of the women’s track and field team, Scott VanderMolen, and joined the team as a thrower.
Beck said she joined the field hockey team as a sophomore for the 2022 season.
“A lot of the girls were like, ‘We would love to have you,’” she said.
“I just wanted to get through my freshman year and know that I was able to do school and a sport,” Beck said. “My sophomore year, I was like, ‘All right, I'll just join.’ And I did and then it was awesome.”
Beck said field hockey helps her as a track athlete because she trains different muscles than lifting weights.
She said she grew up with two older brothers, both of which inspired her as an athlete.
“I try to really just focus on myself,” Beck said. “When it comes to goals, the most important person to be is yourself.”
She said when she joined the field hockey team, “It felt like I just got a whole bunch of sisters that I didn't have the opportunity to really have while growing up.”
Bella Kondi
Bella Kondi, 22, Class of ’23, was a starting midfielder for the FSU field hockey team.
Kondi finished her undergraduate degree majoring in fashion design and retailing and is now in graduate school for management.
She said she wants to work on a coaching staff for a field hockey program and also design athletic wear.
“When I was in middle school, I was always a little more muscular than the other girls and their uniforms would fit them differently than me,” Kondi said. “In high school, I was able to take a textiles class and learn how to sew and make my own thing and that kind of just sparked my passion for sewing.”
She said part of her passion is “making sure that other people can feel confident and comfortable in their clothing” and designing athletic wear combines her worlds of fashion and athletics.
Kondi, originally from Canaan, New Hampshire, said she began playing organized field hockey when she was 12 years old, but she watched her older sister and cousin play starting before that.
She said she watched her sister’s middle school practices and “sometimes the coach would give me her stick to play around with.”
Kondi said her older brother Chris, older sister Catie, and younger sister Georgia all inspired her as an athlete.
Kondi said choosing FSU was “like a Cinderella story” because it offered both fashion design and business programs.
She said, “One day the Framingham State brochure ended up in my mailbox out of nowhere.
“My dad threw it on the counter and was like ‘I think this is the school you're gonna go to.’
“A week later, we booked a tour here and as soon as I got on campus, I was like, ‘Yep, this is exactly where I want to be,’” Kondi added.
She said her favorite part of being on the team is that all her teammates come from “different aspects of life and all have such different personalities, but we can all connect.”
Kondi said it “feels like a family.”
Cori Lawson
Cori Lawson, 21, was a starting defender for the FSU field hockey team.
Lawson, an American Sign Language (ASL) major with a concentration in deaf studies, is a member of the Rams’ Class of 2024.
She said her sister is deaf and “I grew up using the language and preferred, on occasion, signing to speaking.”
Lawson said she originally wanted to be a social worker at a school for the deaf.
But after working at the Learning Center for the Deaf in Framingham over the summer, she said she wants to be a teacher at a school for the deaf, preferably in a middle or high school setting.
Lawson said she began playing field hockey when she was 7 years old, as soon as she had the opportunity to play.
She said she played on her high school’s varsity team all four years as the goalie, but has since transitioned to a defender in college.
“I prefer defense I think,” Lawson said. “‘I play defense like a goalie’ is something I've been told frequently.”
Lawson, originally from Columbia, Maryland, said Framingham State was one of three schools she applied to, all of which fit her criteria of East Coast schools with an ASL program and a field hockey program.
She said she ultimately chose FSU after meeting the team on her visit.
“Their vibe was nothing like anything else I'd experienced,” she added.
Lawson said her favorite part about the team is how “close-knit” they are.
“We make it a very open familial environment,” she said.
Aside from field hockey, Lawson said she has worked at the security desk at Miles Bibb Hall for three years.
“I love when people stop at the desk and accidentally have a two-hour conversation with me,” she said.
Lawson said her favorite memory on the team was during the 2022 season when they beat Eastern Connecticut to earn a playoff spot.
“We came together like I had never seen us do before,” she said. “The amount of heart that everybody played with was amazing.”
Angelina Serra
Angelina Serra, 22, is a starting midfielder for the FSU field hockey team.
Serra, an early education major, is a member of the Rams’ Class of 2024. She is a part of the 4+1 special education program in moderate disabilities and is expected to graduate from FSU with a master’s degree in 2025.
She said after college she would like to be a paraprofessional in a classroom or be a teacher of a special education classroom.
Serra, originally from Chelmsford, said she began playing field hockey when she was in third grade.
She said she didn’t play in town leagues until they started two years later, where she began her career as a defender.
Serra said she played for Chelmsford High School as a defender her four years there, but made the switch to midfield in college.
She said her favorite memory playing field hockey was traveling to Disney for the ESPN Wide World of Sports with her club team in 2016, 2017, and 2020.
Serra said one of her biggest motivators in field hockey is her younger sister, Remoré, who plays DI field hockey at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Serra said she did not plan on playing field hockey in college and was looking for schools with strong education programs.
She said all of the daughters of one of her high school teachers went to FSU as education majors.
“I started to reach out to the coach,” Serra said. “When I found out I had the opportunity to get some of the best education and play field hockey, I knew it was the place for me.”
She said her favorite part about the FSU team is how they are a “family.
“I feel like it would be that way even without field hockey,” Serra said.