Harleigh Bean ’14 joined other former college lacrosse players in a summer forum about women of color in the sport. The forum — hosted by CityLax, a nonprofit that aims to grow the sport in New York City’s public schools — explored how women of color navigate the challenges of playing in a predominantly white sport.

Bean, an EHS standout who played goalkeeper for Washington & Lee University, talked about the difficulties of being the only Black player on the W&L team. She said she loved the experience but felt considerable pressure. “It can be tiring to be a cultural representative for all Black people in the world when you’re really there to take those two or three hours and be playing lacrosse,” she said.

The forum included athletes from Bowdoin, the University of Michigan, Northwestern, the University of Pennsylvania, and Syracuse. Watch it on the CityLax Youtube channel.