As of Monday, April 6th, SWHS senior, Olivia Hewitt, committed to Simmons University as an exercise science major. After applying to and being accepted into four other schools, she was very excited to announce her decision to her friends and family. From Hewitt being interested in the physical therapy program at Simmons, to the Simmons’ soccer team, there is a lot for Hewitt to look forward to. 

To start, the University is a private, all-girls school that is located in the middle of Boston, Massachusetts. While she does not mind that the school only has girls attending because “there are so many colleges in the area that you don’t even notice that it is an all girls school,” she is very happy to be attending a school located in the city. She says that she has always loved the city and that she cannot wait to meet new people there. Not only this, but she explains how all the girls at Simmons “are so supportive and nice.”

Other than meeting new people and making new friends, Hewitt cannot wait to play soccer at a collegiate level. Hewitt began playing soccer at a very young age and has loved the sport ever since, so having the opportunity to play alongside girls like her who are serious about the sport, will be very refreshing for Hewitt. She states that “they are a pretty good team. Last year was a little rough [for them] because they lost eight seniors, so they are rebuilding the team for this season.” Overall, she is just happy to be continuing her love for soccer throughout college and cannot wait to help the team be rebuilt. However, Hewitt does not only play soccer, but she also dances and hopes to be a part of the Simmons dance company in addition to soccer. She wants to stay busy in college and be involved in many different sports and clubs offered at Simmons. 

All while Hewitt wants to be involved in the college community, her top priority is her academics. Hewitt’s plan for college is to get her bachelors in exercise science after four years of her attendance, but her main goal is to go to graduate school and get her DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy degree). When asked how she knew she wanted to become a physical therapist in the future, Hewitt answered confidently, saying that “I’ve always wanted to work in the healthcare field. After volunteering at Saint Francis Hospital and talking to nurses and physician assistants, I realized that I wasn’t interested in those careers. That is when I realized that I wanted to do something with sports and exercising. Then when I shadowed a physical therapist, I knew that it was something that I would enjoy doing while being able to help people recover from injuries.” 

In the end, Hewitt chose to go to Simmons University because of their physical therapy program, the soccer team and other clubs offered, and the location. Hewitt cannot wait to attend Simmons this upcoming fall, and she cannot wait for what the next four years (plus) have in store for her. SWHS wishes Hewitt luck and hopes to see her do great things at Simmons!