Boise State Athletics
Title IX Celebration: Stephanie Donaldson, Samantha Wade and Sara Whiles
6/12/2023 12:32:00 PM | General
As part of its year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Boise State Athletics is celebrating the rich history of Bronco women in sports. Each month (July 2022-June 2023), the Broncos will feature a select woman or group of women whose contributions paved the way for future generations of female student-athletes, coaches and administrators.
Stephanie Donaldson, Samantha Wade, and Sara Whiles all have a commonality when it comes to the work they do with the student-athletes at Boise State. Each of their positions provide useful resources to student-athletes that can be used on the field or court, as well as in their lives after sports.
Donaldson is the current director of athletic counseling and performance psychology, Wade is the director of performance nutrition and Whiles is the assistant athletic director, student-athlete development and BroncoLife.
Growing up, all three women were immersed in sports daily, whether that meant attending professional sporting events, or competing in recreational leagues.
At the age of five, Donaldson joined year-round competitive swimming and continued competing through age 22 at the Division I level. The experience of being a student-athlete taught Donaldson what it meant to be a strong female and that she had to stick through some things, whether she wanted to or not.
“For women in my generation, so those born about a decade or so after Title IX was passed, it’s really hard for me to fathom what sports and education was like for women to participate in before Title IX,” said Donaldson.
In high school, Wade began playing softball more competitively, eventually competing at the Division I level. Through her four years as a student-athlete, she learned valuable life lessons of leadership, teamwork, and accountability.
“I learned so many things beyond just my sport,” said Wade. “I was able to explore what it meant to be an adult, live on your own, and figure out how I wanted to show up in the world.”
Whiles found a passion for tennis after growing up in a home that participated in and celebrated all sports. She played tennis through her freshman year at Boise State before transferring to Northern Arizona to work in the athletics department and experience life outside of Boise. Once she completed her undergraduate degree, Whiles spent a year in the football office at the University of Washington, six years at a nonprofit organization in Boise, and then became the program director of football at UNLV.
“That was a really cool opportunity for me to grow professionally in sports,” said Whiles. “We had a smaller staff at UNLV, where I was the only woman in the office. I will always be thankful for the football coaches that believed in me and gave me the role and responsibilities they did.
After spending time working internships, assistantships, and other full-time positions, all three women play vital roles in the development of student-athletes at Boise State.
Donaldson made the transition from running her own private practice for 10 years to working as the first full-time mental health professional in athletics at Boise State after seeing the idea for the position written on a whiteboard in her boss’s office. She hasn’t looked back since. She currently works alongside student-athletes, helping them on their journey of mental health while identifying their strengths and transferable skills so they can be applied to their lives outside of sports.
Wade became the department’s first full-time sports dietitian in 2021. She helps over 350 student-athletes determine what their bodies need in order to perform at a high level on the field or court, and in the classroom, through medical nutrition therapy, creating travel fuel plans, one-on-one counseling and team education on optimal fueling tailored to each sport.
After obtaining her master’s degree from Boise State in 2013 and working full-time as an academic advisor, Whiles transitioned into her current role as the Director of the BroncoLife program. BroncoLife is a student-athlete development program designed to help student-athletes achieve their goals outside of sports while simplifying the process of learning their core values, engaging in their community and planning for life after sports.
One of the many annual events Whiles and the BroncoLife staff put together is a women-empowerment event that brings together women from all different walks of life, whether they be student-athletes, stay-at-home moms, or CEOs of companies. This year, the Ladies Trailblazer Dinner focused on how Title IX has opened doors for everyone, whether that be in sports, the classroom, or their careers.
“I look back at my time as a college tennis player and realize how much our student-athletes’ identities are wrapped up in who they are as an athlete,” said Whiles. “So, the job I have now within BroncoLife and helping our student-athletes know they are ‘more than just athletes’ is really rewarding.”
Title IX has not only impacted Whiles’ journey in athletics, but the roads traveled for Donaldson and Wade as well.
Donaldson noted that Title IX has changed the way each generation views sports, as both an athlete and consumer. She didn’t grow up watching the WNBA or women’s hoops during March Madness, but sees the way her daughter is able to watch the Los Angeles Sparks and Los Angeles Lakers games back-to-back and appreciate what each team has to offer.
“[My daughter] is able to see that she can have a seat at a table and so can her brother and that it’s okay for it to not be at the same table,” said Donaldson. “It’s helping to stop comparing men’s and women’s sports and instead appreciate the differences each gender brings to the sport.”
While spending time as an intern, Wade worked at universities that had female athletic directors. So, despite starting at ground zero as the department’s first full-time dietician, Wade knew she could succeed at anything because she grew up seeing her gender wouldn’t hold her back from accomplishing her goals in athletics due to Title IX.
“Title IX means, to me, that females are now being recognized as equals,” said Wade. “Because of Title IX there are more opportunities for females, whether that’s by getting an education or playing a sport. I have grown to appreciate the tremendous work women before me have done in order to advance women’s sports.”
