Dr. Welter's Team USA player fund

2013... the best year of my life... so far!!!

Those of you who know me, know that the last few years of my life have been dedicated to 2 pursuits: my doctorate and football. I am so happy to tell you that I have been blessed in both pursuits already in 2013. In regards to my educational goals, I am now officially Dr. Welter (yes, the funny hat and everything). In regards to my football goals, I was named a proud member of the 2013 USA National Women's Football Team.

Playing for the first Women's USA Team at the inaugural IFAF Women's World Championship was an amazing experience, and I prayed I would be able to play in 2013. Following the tryout in Austin, my prayers were answered when I was selected for the 2013 Team.

While representing this great country is a great honor, it is also a lot of pressure. The wonderful world of women's sports is far from the world our male counterparts experience. As I am trying to devise a strategy as to how I can fundraise the amount of money necessary to play for the great USA, potential draft picks for the NFL are counting their millions. In seeing how far we have to go as women, I can only hope the sacrifices we are making will forge a better future for the gridiron girls to come.

As a society, we Americans are very good at giving gifts for weddings and births, and yet, my path has not given me those blessings yet. Instead of a wedding dress, I wore a funny hat and gained a PhD. Instead of starting a family, I have been instrumental in starting the history of women's football. I truly hope that you all will send graduation presents, as those do fit into our societal traditions. I promise to use the money to help the USA team win gold, and use my PhD to make a positive impact. I truly appreciate this, I hope you all know that. Thank you
Dr. Jen Welter #13 USA