Van, Fencer
“I learned the hard way that being a good athlete means taking care of your body.”
The one word you’ll hear most from Van Loc? Challenge. She challenged herself in university to learn fencing, becoming captain of the varsity team. She challenged herself to work as a referee, a coach and a mentor so she could better understand the subtlest details of the sport.
“My coach threw me into situations as if they were puzzles to figure out,” she says.
“Most of the time I would learn how to create advantages for myself against an opponent, and how to not react but create opportunities.”
“I stay active to keep learning about myself. Every day, I am learning more about the biomechanics and nuances of my body and how not to defeat myself mentally. Sport is an amazing and complex learning experience that is sometimes really challenging and daunting — and I like challenges!"
“Being captain of the varsity team really allowed me to look at the growth of others.”