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Transforming Lives

Former Mercersburg Swimmer Devotes Career to College Athletes

By Lisa Wei ’26

As a swimmer at Mercersburg, Julie Sommer ’90 developed a drive that led to a career of helping student-athletes achieve their goals.

“At Mercersburg, I was able to learn the value of hard work, teamwork, and mentorship. It was truly an incredible experience, really transformative,” said Sommer, the executive director of The Drake Group Education Fund.

The Drake Group Education Fund educates the public, lawmakers, and higher education decision-makers about critical issues in intercollegiate athletics.

“The organization started out as a movement by administrators, academics, and others concerned about exploitation of college athletes in revenue-generating sports,” Sommer said. “These concerns included inadequate academic preparation for college, a lack of academic support, and low graduation rates for athletes in those sports.”

Sommer was first introduced to Mercersburg while competing at the Easterns Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships for another boarding school.

“Just witnessing how the team carried themselves and how they supported each other. They were just so appealing as a team environment, because they were so supportive of each other and having so much fun,” said Sommer, who later transferred to Mercersburg.

Hard work in the pool and the mentorship she received contributed to her success in college and beyond.

“I knew I wanted to swim in college,” Sommer said. “I was anxious about the college application process. I remember my first meeting with the associate head of school at the time, Elizabeth ‘Jackie’ Powell. She helped alleviate a lot of the anxiety around it . Having her as my counselor was really one of my most memorable experiences, aside from swimming at Mercersburg.”

Sommer’s journey to working with studentathletes has been a long one, full of uncertainty and learning experiences.

“By the time I was in college, I knew that I was interested in going to law school, but I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do with a law degree,” Sommer said.

After finishing college as a student-athlete at the University of Texas in Austin, she worked in a coffee shop while applying to law schools. She was accepted but decided to defer for one year to work as a sports intern in New York.

“Those early experiences were really invaluable, from the people I met to learning about the work and industry,” Sommer said. “I worked for the foremost gender equity pioneer in women’s sports, as well as the leading sports agents, managers, and lawyers. They were great because I was committed and passionate about the work and learning from the top people in those internships.”

The Drake Group Education Fund supports college athletes in a number of areas. It was founded 25 years ago as a national think tank, dedicated to academic integrity in college sports, and now works on behalf of college athletes’ rights and protections in many areas, including health and well-being, academic support and graduation rates, financial rights, exploitation related to sports betting, gender equity, and racial and social justice.

“Witnessing all these changes that were rapidly happening in college sports and wanting to be a part of fighting for athletes, that’s what I’m looking to do,” Sommer said. “What drove me here is my passion for college athletics and college athletes.”

Editor’s Note: Lisa Wei ’26 of Princeton, NJ, was an intern for Mercersburg’s Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications during the spring term. She is an editor of The Mercersburg News, a prefect, concertmaster of the String Ensemble, and a Women’s Activist Club member. Her passion for human rights, specifically those surrounding mental health and women’s rights, led her to the founding of PinkCostFree, a nonprofit organization aimed to help improve the accessibility of hygiene products for those in need.

  • Alumni Life