MISSION FIRST: Setting the Bar

Katlin VanWye is not one to seek praise. She didn't call attention to herself as a defender on the Army West Point club women's lacrosse team, and her decision to become involved in Cadets Against Sexual Harassment and Abuse (CASH/A) was not made to gain recognition.

Even after receiving the Army Achievement Medal from West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen in early March, VanWye was not sure she had done anything worthy of earning the honor.

"Every Friday, they announce someone who has done something awesome in the Corps from the 'poop deck' in the Mess Hall," VanWye says. "I was announced as the winner of this award and at first, I was shocked because I didn't think I deserved it."

VanWye was presented with the Army Achievement Medal thanks to being a central contributor to the development and execution of West Point's "It's On Us" campaign video in support of President Barack Obama's national initiative to prevent sexual assault.

The video featured cadets speaking out against sexual harassment and was played in Michie Stadium between the first and second quarters of Army West Point's football game against Air Force on Nov. 1, 2014. The video included appearances by VanWye, United States Corps of Cadets First Captain Austin Welch, as well as a selection of varsity team captains and CASH/A representatives.

The football team added to the event by donning teal helmet stickers in awareness of sexual assault, and teal t-shirts were handed out to the Corps to be revealed in conjunction with the video.

"It was really awesome to see the committee come together and I definitely couldn't have done it without them," VanWye says. "It was an honor because it shows that we are doing things that matter and people are realizing this is an issue."

The idea for the "It's on Us" video began with instruction from Caslen to get West Point involved in the presidential initiative.

VanWye got together with her CASH/A committee and brainstormed ideas on what they could do to bring the campaign to West Point.

"The Superintendent said, 'The It's On Us campaign is the President's initiative and we need to make it our initiative,' and I said, 'Roger that, Sir,'" VanWye recalls. "My committee sat down and we thought about what we could do to make this impactful. That's when we had the idea of coming up with a video and revealing it at the Army-Air Force game."

The final video did make an impact as it received praise from Vice President Joe Biden before drawing an honorable mention nod in a national contest sponsored by the NCAA Division I National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in early April. Army West Point joined contest-winner University of North Carolina at Charlotte as one of only two schools among over 40 NCAA Division I institutions from across the country to have its video recognized.

VanWye became involved in CASH/A during her Yearling year, starting as her company's CASH/A representative before working her way up to her current role as the Brigade CASH/A Captain.

"Being a part of CASH/A is so neat," VanWye shares, moments before a women's lacrosse practice at West Point's Shea Stadium. "Sexual harassment has been an extremely important issue during my time at West Point, and being involved in CASH/A has opened my eyes to how important the issue really is. I've seen such a change in the atmosphere and how leadership has approached these issues from my Plebe year to my Firstie year."

As the Brigade CASH/A Captain, VanWye serves as the group's highest-ranking member within the Corps of Cadets and is responsible for preventative training around the subjects of sexual assault and sexual harassment at the brigade level.

VanWye took the lead in developing monthly training sessions for CASH/A representatives from the 36 companies that make up the Corps.

"In some of the topics we go over, we create 'X, Y' cases, which show an example of a sexual assault or a sexual harassment case that took place," VanWye describes. "I brief my CASH/A committee on these cases and they brief the Corps."

VanWye and her CASH/A representatives have tried to take a more personal approach in their training sessions in order to show some of the real-life impacts of sexual harassment and assault.

"The idea behind the 'X, Y' cases was to make it more personal," VanWye says. "There is a lot of, 'This is so vague, you say this is a problem, but we don't see it.' But these are actual cases that happened.

"We've really tried to personalize some of our training, because when something happens to someone, you don't know how much it affects them unless you're going through it yourself or you know someone who is. This year, my goal has been to make it personal for the Corps. To know these people and to know their stories will help make us better leaders as future officers."

Along with the strides she has made in the Corps' understanding of sexual harassment and assault as the Brigade CASH/A Captain, VanWye has contributed to a different kind of growth as a member of the Army West Point club women's lacrosse team.

The 2015 club lacrosse season marked a historic time for the program, as it was the team's final year as a club squad before making the transition to the Division I level and becoming the Academy's 28th varsity program beginning in the 2015-16 academic year.

Despite having no formal lacrosse experience growing up, VanWye played two years on the team and appeared in and started every game as a senior, except for two she could not make.

While playing on the lacrosse team provided unique outlets away from the day-to-day life of a West Point cadet, VanWye acknowledges that all she has learned from CASH/A also applies to her position as a collegiate athlete.

"I try to bring a lot to the lacrosse field that I've learned in my position in the Corps," VanWye says. "Leadership is everywhere you go, it's in your military position in the Corps, but it's also on the field with everyone you work with."

Noto Family Head Women's Lacrosse Coach Kristen Waagbo was hired in the summer of 2014 to oversee the club program's transition into the Division I ranks. After beginning practices with the team during the fall season, Waagbo relied on her seven seniors as leaders who would begin to take Army West Point women's lacrosse to the next level.

"This senior class has been a special group for us in terms of setting our program up for success in the future," Waagbo shares. "Through their various leadership positions, this class has really shown our underclassmen and our new staff what it means to serve as humble leaders and remain active in the Corps as top-level athletes."

Waagbo has also appreciated the impact that VanWye's role as the Brigade CASH/A Captain has had on the women's lacrosse program and on the Corps as a whole.

"Katie is an absolutely remarkable cadet-athlete and we are lucky that she has represented our women's lacrosse program while serving in an important leadership position in the Corps," Waagbo says. "Through Katie's role in CASH/A, we have seen her make tangible positive changes to our Academy and our community by bringing awareness to sexual harassment and assault."

VanWye and the rest of the seniors helped lead the Black Knights to a successful 8-3 season in their final year at the club level that included an appearance in the New England Women's Lacrosse League's championship game.

VanWye envisions herself taking the important lessons she's learned through her experiences in CASH/A and on the lacrosse field into her career in the United States Army. VanWye will report to Camp Red Cloud in South Korea to join the Ordnance branch of the United States Army this winter.

"CASH/A has definitely helped prepare me for the future," VanWye says. "It will be my job that the soldiers in my platoon know that sexual assault is an issue and if they have something that comes up, I know how to guide them in the right direction and be a support system for them."

Army West Point Athletics

MISSION FIRST: Setting the Bar

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