A road or path with winding turns and unexpected obstacles is often presented as a metaphor for life's journey. For senior cross country runner Sarah Jane Kerwin, her road to Oberlin College was different than that of other student-athletes.
 
After spending her first year at Barnard College in the sprawling metropolis of New York City, Kerwin decided to transfer to Oberlin in search of a small community where she could build relationships with her professors and peers alike. What Kerwin found on her journey from the Big Apple to Oberlin, Ohio, was a family, and it has certainly made all the difference.
 
"Just being in college is such a unique experience, but being on the cross country team made me feel as if I had a family away from home," said Kerwin, who serves as team captain for the Oberlin women. "As soon as I realized I wanted to transfer, I knew running would be a great way to pick a new school. Although running was not the sole reason I transferred, it was one of the reasons why I picked Oberlin."
 
Throughout Sarah Jane's initial recruitment process as a high school junior her interest in Oberlin was nurtured through her relationship with decorated head cross country coach Ray Appenheimer, now in his 11^th season at Oberlin.
 
"Ray was actively involved in the process in a way that made me feel as if I had someone at Oberlin who was looking out for me," said Kerwin. "I feel that I have someone who is not just academically or athletically involved in my life as an Oberlin student-athlete. I am always accountable to someone and I know that Ray is there as someone I can go to when I am having problems."
 
"Even through the recruiting process Sarah Jane was special," said Appenheimer. "It's been wonderful to watch her grow and mature and become more confident. I have this belief that groups have a collective persona or identity. I also believe that they find this persona in their leaders. So much of what has made us successful over the last three years is due to Sarah Jane."
 
After transferring, Kerwin immediately made an impact on the women's cross country team. In her first year, the Carrboro, North Carolina, native earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference honors in cross country while helping the Yeowomen claim their fourth conference title. She has since been named first team all-conference as both a junior and senior.
 
Success in the world of distance running is nothing new for the Kerwin family since Sarah Jane's mother was a competitor in the women's 10,000-meter run at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
 
"My family jokes that running is the family business," explained Kerwin. "When I was little, my mother encouraged me to try different things and be involved in other sports, not just running competitively. There is something about running that really stuck with me, though. I love that I am out there with myself and the roads or the woods."
 
At the 2014 NCAC Cross Country Championships on November 1, Kerwin set a career mark with a fifth-place finish, helping the Oberlin ladies claim their sixth consecutive NCAC title under Appenheimer. Two weeks later at the Great Lakes Regional Championships, Kerwin earned all-region honors for the second time in her career by finishing seventh overall.
 
Her performance at the Great Lakes Regional Championships, coupled with the stellar running of her teammates, propelled the Yeowomen to an automatic team bid to the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
 
"I know that Sarah Jane is going to put everything she has, body, soul and mind, into that race at the NCAA Championships," said Appernheimer. "I can't wait to watch her race Saturday and finish out her collegiate career on the track at the NCAA Championships in the 10,000-meters in the spring."
 
Heading into the NCAA's, the Yeowomen are ranked tenth in the final United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll.
 
In addition to her success during the cross country season, Kerwin followed in her mother's strides by qualifying for the 2014 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the women's 10,000-meter run.
 
Though athletics has been a large part of Kerwin's experience at Oberlin, the English/history double major has meshed her success on the track and cross country course with her academic endeavors.
 
"I have been able to experience so many great things," said Kerwin. "There have definitely been some challenges, but at Oberlin, from the moment you walk into class, the professors are engaged in the material and engaged in the students, which makes the students really excited about learning. I think a lot of schools are academically challenging – like Barnard – but I don't think there are many schools that are as encouraging of curiosity as Oberlin is."
 
Two professors who have allowed Sarah Jane to embrace her curiosity for English and history are professor of English Sandy Zagarell and history professor, Carol Lasser. Kerwin's most notable academic undertaking was a joint-research project with Zagarell and Lasser that investigated the religion and sentimentality within the revered anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. Over the summer of 2014, while serving as a research assistant, Kerwin was able to further cultivate her deep-rooted passion for literature.
 
"I just love stories," proclaimed Kerwin. "This was an amazing opportunity for me, and Carol and Sandy were very approachable and accepting of my curiosity. While working with the material, I could see the literature coming together and thought it couldn't have formed without the history and without the history, the literature wouldn't exist."
 
Kerwin further explained the experience by saying, "Since Carol and Sandy are experts in their respective fields, it was sometimes difficult for them to understand the other's point of view on the project. I was able to inject my opinion into the conversation as someone who is a student of both disciplines, which was a really cool experience."
 
Since classes resumed in the fall and the 2014 cross country season began, Kerwin has shown nothing but poise and determination, registering six top ten performances. Not to say that she has not been working as hard in the classroom as on the cross country course. She has as she will be looking to claim her third Academic All-American honor this year.
 
Moving forward Kerwin is unsure what the future holds for her professionally. Following graduation, she would like to turn her passion for academics into a career in teaching and coaching. Athletically, she has no intention of hanging up her running shoes permanently and that she aspires to be a high school cross country coach down the road.
 
Regardless of how the road turns and the path diverges it is clear that Kerwin will be challenging herself and running with passion toward success following her time at Oberlin.

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