FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2023 | 15 school, and hopefully share what I have taken from the school and my career and give back to the next generation and maybe inspire some other athletes. But most importantly, help them grow and develop as human beings. What have you taken from your professional career and brought to your role at Lehigh? Personal development, individual development, team development and team culture. … I learned a lot about training, game preparation, recovery, nutrition and the holistic approach to sports development. Being the best we can be on the field but also taking care of all those different facets. Lauren and I have talked a lot about nutrition, recovery, activation and prep for training and games and also mental health. Describe the experience of playing for the U.S. Women’s National Team on its 2015 World Cup Victory Tour in a friendly against Brazil. It was an extreme honor to get called up to camp in 2015. It was one of my best years I’ve had at a club level. I was hitting my prime at that age, I was 30 years old. … Being able to experience what it was like at the highest level in your country, and to compete against the top players in your country, it’s an experience you can’t fully describe. There’s a lot of emotions around it, but you’re also extremely nervous when you get into camp. There’s high tension getting into a game like that, performing against a top country, being on TV for the first time in your home country and performing in front of that many people in that stadium [Orlando Citrus Bowl]. Last year the U.S. Soccer Federation announced a deal in which the men’s and women’s national teams are paid equally. Are you surprised it took this long? Yes and no. The battle for equality is always going to be a tough fight for us women, but as far as equal pay, I’m surprised it took that long just based on the interest, the ticket sales and the revenue they were producing. The women were bringing in so much, the game had grown so much over the last few years. But at the club level, we’re still fighting a fight where we can get to a level where we’re not equal pay with the men, but also equal resources. I don’t think there will ever be such a thing as equal pay [at the club level], but equal play would be a little bit more realistic in the sense of providing the women with the same opportunity and resources as the men have. What was it like to play with some of the biggest names in U.S. women’s soccer, such as Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger? It didn’t hit me until later on in my career where I was like, ‘Wow, I actually played with some of these top world-class players.’ Especially in Germany, I played with probably three-fourths of the national team there. It was an amazing experience to reach that level and compete with them, learn from them, understand how they do things and grow as players and as teams. Of course, the higher the level you get to, there’s different personalities that you come in contact with and the pressures and the expectations that come with that as a player. That really challenges you. It can be humbling. I’m certainly grateful for the opportunity to compete with them and with the teams that I’ve been on. It's an experience I’ll never forget that shaped me and molded me into the person I am today. Do you still keep in touch with any of those players? Yeah, I do. I still have quite a few friends and contacts over in Germany. I try to get to Germany once a year to connect with relatives and friends there. I always try to visit [my former team] Bayern Munich to keep the door open. You never know what could be possible there. I still have contacts with a couple of players in the NWSL. I have contact with [my former club NJ/NY Gotham FC], as well as some other players that I’ve gotten to know through my coaching license that I did through the league back in 2021. —Stephen Gross Gina Lewandowski ’07 is enjoying her transition from her professional playing career (below) to coaching at her alma mater (left). STEPHANIE VETO / LEHIGH ATHLETICS
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