Our second in a series honoring our 2018 Hall of Fame following the release of Huey Thomas, today we would like to highlight women's golfer Jessica Potter '06.  Formal induction ceremonies are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 23 at the Father Hubert "Hub" Flynn Hall of Fame Dinner in the McLaren Center on the USF campus. The festivities will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by the dinner program at 7:30 p.m. The inductees will also be honored at halftime of the USF-San Diego basketball game on Feb. 24.
 

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Finding that perfect "home away from home" was on former University of San Francisco golf player Jessica Potter's mind when she first started to look for her college destination. That's when Potter found USF.

"I initially chose the school because of its proximity to home — I'm from Vancouver, B.C — the quality of the team, the school as well of course, and the city of San Francisco because it reminded me a lot of home," Potter said. "Everything just seemed to kind of fit well together when I committed to USF and going there absolutely lived up to all of my expectations."

Potter loved every minute she spent as a Don, from the support she received from the athletic department to the support from the academic department. With great teammates and friends, Potter said her time at USF was a great experience for her, especially when she was able to travel to different places, adding whole new experiences to her life.

While being a student at USF, Potter was also a player on the golf team and it was also a whole new experience, going from an individual sport to a team sport. Golf, leading up to NCAA athletics according to Potter, is typically individual with the occasional opportunity to play for or represent a country in a team setting. NCAA golf however made it different for Potter.

"I wasn't just playing for myself anymore, I was playing for my team and my school," Potter said. "That was a great experience for me, to be able to be in a team sport and have all these people you can rely on and who supported you while you supported them. It definitely gave me a different perspective on the sport and I loved it."

On top of feeling privileged to be a Don, Potter was award WCC Golfer of the Month in March of 2006 during her time on the team, and it was a great honor for her. Potter explained there are a lot of great schools in the WCC Conference and while she was playing at USF, there were a lot of great players she competed against.

To get recognized among a very competitive group of people felt great to Potter after all the hard work she had put in with early morning workouts and going to classes during the day followed by practices at night, not to mention all of the classes that had to be missed due to traveling. To have it all come together in the end for Potter made it all the better.

Potter was faced with a challenge however when it came time for her to decide whether or not she wanted to play on tour or continue with school. It was a difficult decision for Potter because a lot of her friends were going on to play professionally, and at first it was the path she was on originally.

"It was always my intention when I was playing, but when I got to that cross road, I really had to weight the lifestyle I would live as a professional athlete, which can kind of be really tough," Potter said. "Sometimes as a female in sports, it can be more of a difficult run, but more than that, I have always been interested in science and medicine, and I always had that in the back of my mind."

When the time came to make a decision, Potter went with her gut and decided to go back to school to pursue medicine. Potter added that there are certain days she had wished she had gone the other route because golf was always her passion. Watching her old teammates and competitors play on tour makes Potter wonder what life would have been like, but she is content with what she does now and lives with no regrets.

Finishing up her residency in Portland, Potter went on to pursue a career in foot and ankle surgery after her time as an athlete came to an end. The main thing that helped Potter decide to go in podiatry was when she was applying for medical school and just happened to shadow a friend.

"Seeing his practice and all the different ways you can go with podiatry, you can be a surgeon, work in sports-medicine, be a hospitalist — you can find out what you like and what you want to choose in that path," Potter said. "I thought that was a good reason to go into that field because I would be able to see what I really excelled at or what peaked my interest, and hone in on that area."

As residency has gone on for Potter, her hours have become better so she is able to play a round of golf or two here and there. Although it's not often for her to play a round, Potter still makes it to the driving range whenever she can because being able to hit a bucket of balls is a stress reliever for her and it sort of grounds her.

Medical school was grueling for Potter as has been residency. A lot of hours are put in and as a student — it's a lot of hours of studying. Then comes residency and it's the same thing, but with added hours of on-call and a lot of long days in the operating room. With all the hours she puts in on top of finding time to get back our on the course, Potter attributes it all to her time as a Don.

"I think being a past student-athlete has prepared me for this more than anything because a lot of attributes I had to have as a student-athlete and an athlete on a team was what I had to bring forward to be successful on this path," Potter said. "I think my time at USF helped prepare me for my time as a resident and moving forward."
 

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The rich and storied tradition of USF Athletics will come alive on Friday, February 23 with the formal induction ceremonies at the Father Hubert "Hub" Flynn Hall of Fame Dinner at the McLaren Center on the USF Campus. The festivities will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by the dinner program at 7:30 p.m. The inductees will also be honored at halftime of the USF-San Diego basketball game on Feb. 24
 
USF's Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2018, which will comprise the 44th group of inductees, includes Hans Friessen '72(men's soccer), Stefan Gartrell '06 (baseball), Andrea Kagie '97 (women's basketball), Jessica Potter '08 (women's golf), Huey Thomas '65 (men's basketball), and Fr. Joe Eagan, who will be inducted in the special service category.
 
With the inclusion of the new members, USF's Athletic Hall of Fame now includes 272 individuals and 21 teams.
                                                                                                                                         
Individual reservations for the Father Hubert "Hub" Flynn Hall of Fame Dinner are priced at $75 while a table of 10 may be purchased for $725.
 

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The Athletic Department has announced the formation of an athletic alumni association whose mission will be to engage and connect former students across different sports, generations and geographical areas in an attempt to build and foster an on-going association with USF Athletics.

All former students who have competed for a minimum of one year in an intercollegiate sport are eligible, as are team managers and spirit squad members who compiled at least three years of service as an undergraduate

Join the Dons Honor Club