During their semester at University College Cork (UCC), Lily Duval ‘27, Calleigh Faga ‘26, DPT ’29, Allie Leahy ’27, OTD ‘30 and Grace Shufelt ’27 decided to take a weekend trip to England. While planning their trip, they realized that Maher, Quinnipiac women’s rugby alumna and Olympic medalist, was playing for the Bristol Bears. With this in mind, the group scheduled their trip to attend one of Maher’s matches, eager to support her and display their Quinnipiac spirit abroad. 

Upon arriving at the stadium, the group was approached by a staff member who asked if the students would be interested in doing the halftime relay race. After agreeing to participate, the students mentioned their affiliation with Quinnipiac. Thrilled by the connection, the employee encouraged the group to stay after the match as Maher is known to greet her fans.

The students waited in a long line of fans eager to meet Maher, expressing their appreciation for Maher’s dedication to socializing with every person in line.

“When it was time to meet her, there were at least 100 people lined up to meet and take photos with her,” said Duval. “It was awesome to watch her interact with everyone, as she made it a point to socialize and talk to every single person in line. She was very charismatic, laughing and making jokes her whole walk down the line.”

When Maher made her way to the students, she immediately noticed their Quinnipiac flag and jacket, pausing to take photos with students and expressing her appreciation for their support.

“Meeting Ilona in person was a surreal experience,” said Duval. “All of us are big fans of the message she promotes for women in sports over social media. We always made sure to vote for Ilona when she was on 'Dancing with the Stars' too. She made those few minutes very special and memorable.”

This experience left the students with a renewed sense of Bobcat pride and admiration for Maher, who is not only an outstanding alumna but also an inspiration to women around the world.

“It's very special and honorable to see how someone in our position was able to accomplish so much in her career,” said Shufelt. “All of us relate to being a woman in sports and seeing her advocate for women everywhere makes us feel supported and heard. Being a current student at Quinnipiac and watching an alumna accomplish so many things, from earning an Olympic medal to partnering with well-known brands to share her message shows just how much is possible for the next generation of women and students.”