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San Francisco women's tennis alumna Michelle Duncan '05 is showcased in this year's first Tuesday Testimonial. Here, she talks about the role USF played in her development on the tennis courts for the Dons, in the classrooms on the Hilltop, and throughout the world as the executive director of Operation Rainbow.

This year's Tuesday Testimonial series will focus on the pioneers of USF athletics who have contributed to "The Rise," and who will be featured in an upcoming documentary profiling some of the pioneers that have played and coached on the Hilltop.

Here, Duncan recalls the women in her sport that she grew up admiring, and the growth that women in sports have enjoyed, particularly in the 45 years of Title IX.

"I think across the board, women have this unique ability, especially in sports, to look at something as, you know it may not have come as easily to me but I'm going to work that much harder to get it, and then I'm going to hold it strong and close to my heart," she noted. "But I'm never going to forget how hard it was to do that and I'm always going to be grateful for it. I think that's key. I think that's why we keep challenging ourselves."

Some of Duncan's greatest challenges and greatest feats came away from the tennis courts. Her humanitarian spirit was on full display as early as her sophomore year at USF when she was profiled in The Foghorn in May of 2003:

In high school, Duncan was an apt pupil of the Spanish language, and graduated fluent in the Latin-based language. Just this past summer, Duncan set out to satisfy her desire to see the world and to put her Spanish language skills to the test. "I just did some research, and I chose a little community on the coast of Ecuador called Baitia-De-Caraquez, then I packed my bags and went and taught English to little kids for the summer."

Instead of utilizing one of the many programs that places American English teachers in pre-selected locations, Duncan chose to seek out a community that she thought demonstrated great need. The experience became one of Duncan's greatest accomplishments in her opinion. "It was the most life changing experience I have ever had. I was completely by myself, on my own, and I was sort of testing myself … You know, can I master the challenge? I really feel that I did."

That experience in Ecuador grew into a lifetime of working in a humanitarian capacity around the world, as she now spearheads the Operation Rainbow's work, which has provided more than 17,000 children across the globe with medical care, and Michelle's work with Operation Rainbow can be explored in-depth in this usfdons.com feature from April 2017.

"I loved USF because there was that balance of not just being a student-athlete, but also having the rest of the community that you were expected to have an impact on," she reflects in this Tuesday Testimonial. "I was actually not only told it was ok, I was encouraged to go do humanitarian work during my summers at USF which was unheard of for a Division I student-athlete. I was able to study in Ecuador and give back in that community which inspired me to now continue my work as a humanitarian. I don't know if I would have chosen that path if it wasn't for USF."

Duncan's time in the interview chair with USF's director of creative video, Katie Morgan, was more than just a time to reflect on her experiences as a Don. Her bulging belly was the closing scene of the feature video, "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl." Since the taping, Duncan is now a mother to happy, healthy baby girl of her own named Quinn. As a new mom, Duncan now has even a greater appreciation of the progress since Title IX, and the rise of the women of USF Athletics since that time.

"Progress can move fast, we've seen that from the female group and some of us would probably say it should move faster," she said. "But coming from 45 years ago having the first scholarship to now having a competitive national athlete at USF, that to me says it could be anyone, it could be any next step. It's putting that focus into it and saying women can do this. … At the end of the day, the next generation, the little kids out there, they're inspired by stories like that. They're going to be the next national athlete 20 years later, and we need to make sure that continues in the USF community, in every community, so that we're inspiring that youngest generation. It's huge."

The current USF women's tennis squad will take to the courts this weekend in the Battle in the Bay Classic, which showcases the tennis talents of some of the premier men and women from across the country. "The Rise," will be seen this spring, released in conjunction with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and airing on NBC Sports California in February.