Following the great success of our spring Senior Spotlights, UnionAthletics.com will spend the next few weeks spotlighting many of the Union seniors from all 26 Union varsity sports! Previous senior profiles can be viewed by heading to http://www.unionathletics.com/seniorspotlights.
 
Elly Vaughan was a four-year member of the Union women's basketball team, walking on to the squad as a freshman before becoming a two-year starter in the post. She increased her output in every category in each of her four years, culminating in a senior season in which she was named Team Co-Most Valuable Player after averaging 9.0 points and 6.6 rebounds while adding 37 blocks, 55 assists and 44 steals, finishing top-two on the team in all categories. The highlight of the season was her game-winning buzzer-beater to defeat Vassar, only the second three-pointer of her career. In four seasons, she scored 474 points with 398 rebounds, 105 assists, 97 blocks and 87 steals, finishing her career sixth in school history in blocks.
 
Off the court, the psychology and studio art double major was a two-time selection to the Liberty League All-Academic Team and served as a student manager of the Pre-Orientation Program.
 
What has been your favorite moment as a student-athlete at Union?
My favorite moment was our buzzer-beater win versus Vassar. Coach was about to pull me to put a stacked line-up of three-point shooters on the floor. Usually I would have just trusted him and sat out but I impulsively refused and said I wanted to finish the game. Although the play didn't exactly go as it was drawn up on the bench, it was a moment that I will never forget and one of the highlights of my career.
 
How has being a student-athlete at Union benefited you over the last four years?
I walked onto the basketball team expecting to never see the floor, but the challenge always pushed me to work that much harder. Being a student-athlete teaches you countless life skills, the most important being how to work with a team and how to handle the mental and physical pressures that come along with it. The demanding schedule and the pressure to balance athletics on top of school work was definitely tough at times, but I believe it gave me a stronger work ethic. I would be truly lost without my team and my sport, and for that I am forever grateful. 
 
What has been your most meaningful experience outside of athletics?
My most meaningful experience outside of athletics was my work with the Community Experience Pre-Orientation. I have been a leader for the program since my sophomore year and this year I was the student manager of the group. Janet Sweeney and her staff organize an amazing program for first years to do service projects all around Schenectady during a four-day period in the fall before anyone is on campus. After enjoying the program so much my first year, I became a leader and the group of us have become a family over the years. I met so many people I wouldn't have met otherwise through this experience and it has always been one of my favorite weeks of the year.
 
Who was/is your favorite professor at Union and why?
My favorite professor at Union is my advisor, Fernando Orellana [Associate Professor of Visual Arts]. Studio Arts can sometimes be challenging because there is no definitive right or wrong way to interpret something, but Fernando always finds a way to push you past the surface level of a project. He is blatantly honest, which at times is hard to hear, but he does so not to belittle me or my project, but to push it to be stronger than I ever thought possible. 
 
What advice would you give to younger athletes about their time at Union?
For me, college athletics was the end of an era and an experience I will always be grateful for. My biggest advice to younger athletes is never take a game or practice for granted. During my first two seasons, I was adjusting to the level of competition and often got in my own head about my coach's criticism or playing poorly. My advice to those who can relate is to not take anything too seriously and never dwell on a mistake. Your college career will fly by and if you take games or practices too seriously, you'll forget to appreciate the game you've spent your whole life enjoying.