One of my first, and fondest, memories of Crispen was day one of pre-season my freshman year. We never touched a stick—the entire practice was composed of running, sprinting, and more running. I grew up in MA, and never even factored into my summer training equation the mid-August heat and humidity. About ¾ of the way into that practice, I starting thinking, “what am I doing here?” and in that moment I couldn’t decide if I wanted to run off the field, pass out, or throw up.
In the midst of this internal struggle I heard Crispen call out, “Farnsworth! Over here!” from the sidelines, and I was convinced that she was going to cut me from the team right then and there. I rushed to the sidelines, and she looked at me, put a hand on my shoulder and said, “I thought you’d like to know that Nomar Garciapara hit a home run last night. If he can do it with all his injuries, you can do this.” I must have had that dumbstruck face of not knowing whether to laugh or cry, so she shooed me back onto the field with thoughts of Red Sox glory, and the little oomph of spirit I needed to make it through day one, and consequently through four wonderful years of SBC hockey.
Whether it was inspiring the hundreds of students she taught in her 30+ tenure at SBC, or cheering on our beloved Red Sox up until the end, or challenging everyone to consider why we needed a new Fitness and Athletic Center, or battling her various bouts of breast cancer with grace and poise, Crispen lived her life at full force, and made sure that everyone that surrounded her was encouraged to do the same.
Our Homecoming Celebration this weekend revolved heavily around our beautiful Fitness and Athletic Center. As soon as I stepped foot into our field house, I was instantly verklempt–not only because the new addition will finally allow this campus, and our students, to catch up to our peers, but because Crispen would have adored it. Every brick, every seam, every room, every inch reeks of her–I literally could feel her presence in that space. I imagine for years to come every time I’m fortunate enough to be there, I’ll be able to feel that direct connection.
For us, the FAC is kind of like the Promised Land. 
For years, even when I was a student, this mythical “New Gym” was always on the books, but never showed much promise of being fulfilled. Yet Crispen kept fighting for it. We finally came to a place where it was almost possible, we just had to get the nuts and bolts of the projects together, and Crispen kept campaigning for it. April of 2008 came and went and we had out groundbreaking, and Crispen was first in line to put her shovel in the ground.
And in the end last year, it was as if Crispen marched up to Mount Nebo. She would see the concept, the framework, the space of this athletic promised land, but would never get to see it through to the finish line. It was up to us, the next generation of Sweet Briar folk, to see her vision through.
I know most of you reading probably didn’t know Crispen. When you walk through this beautiful building of ours, it might not be as emotionally charged as it is for others. But what I hope to accomplish by writing about her is that when you do visit us (and I certainly hope you’ll visit us soon!) you can understand the scope of why this building is so important to us, why many of us shed so many tears during the dedication and Hall of Fame Induction Saturday night, and why our community feels so grateful to finally have this space.
Crispen lead many of us out of our various wildernesses and into better places, and lead this community through an incredible transition. I know she would have been so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish, and excited about the potential this building holds for all of our students. She’d tell us that certainly if the Red Sox can break the curse and win two World Series, surely we can have the athletic facilities we have always deserved. If they can do it, so can we.
We did it, Crispen, we did it.
