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Be Like Lynn: Bridgewater College Director of Athletic Media Relations Lynn Walsh demonstrated calm and caring in the face of tragedy, uplifting the athletics department and the community
by Ryan Legarsky – Bridgewater College, Associate Director of Athletic Media Relations
Tuesday, February 1, 2022, began as just another day on the campus of Bridgewater College. The athletic media relations team met, as we do every Tuesday morning, to discuss the week’s events as crossover season was about to begin.
We discussed season preview interviews, the basketball games that were rescheduled for that week following a bout of bad weather earlier in January and a few upcoming scrimmages that were to be used in preparation for the start of the spring season. Personally, I was excited to go over baseball statistics that afternoon.
Not even three hours later, everything changed.
“Reports of an active shooter on campus. Shelter in place. This is not a test.”
Bridgewater College fans at the BC Strong basketball game.
Those were the words sent across the campus community alert system via text and email. As the alerts continued to come through, many of us had no idea the extent of what was happening just a short distance away. In the end, it was a day that changed the community forever.
Campus Police Officer John Painter and Campus Safety Officer J.J. Jefferson were tragically killed on campus. Two men doing their jobs, and two men loved by many people, whether on campus, or off it. Both will be remembered in my heart, as well as many others, as heroes.
February 1, 2022, is a day that I’m not particularly fond of thinking about, but it's also a day that made me extremely proud to wear the Bridgewater “B” and especially proud to be a part of the athletic media relations staff. The way the community came together in the wake of tragedy has been amazing to see. The connections that so many have to this beautiful campus is astounding, and I’m proud and fortunate to be a part of it.
I’m very much my mother’s son as I’ve used nearly 300 words to get to my reason for writing this story and that is my direct supervisor, Lynn Walsh. I would be lying if I were to say I am anywhere near as strong as she proved to be through this tragedy, and I’m also one to believe everyone needs to be given credit when credit is due.
And, in fact, credit is due.
Over the past several weeks, Lynn has been instrumental in helping the healing process within our walls in athletics. In fact, days after the event, Lynn helped assemble all the student-athletes and staff for a day of fun to calm any nerves about returning to campus. In the days following the events, I never saw her falter. She kept her head high as she navigated a very difficult time for any media relations professional. For me, she has been my “fearless leader” through something a small percentage of people around the country have had to be a part of.
I had no idea how I wanted to give her that credit for handling the adversity of shouldering a lot of media attention that was placed on campus and athletics, but as a communicator, I realized the best way to do that is with my words, and I’ve put together some of those. Maybe too many of them, but as I said before, I am my mother’s son, after all.
This is the fifth school I have been employed at since graduating from college, and I often second-guessed myself in wanting to be an athletics communicator before arriving at Bridgewater, whether that was seeing other people create amazing graphics that I could only dream of or covering events that I would be too shy to handle, or even applying for jobs that I would love to be at only to get passed over for interviews countless times.
I lost jobs because of a global pandemic, moving from state to state for my family; took jobs that didn’t work out for me, and even found myself selling couches for an extended period of time. I mean, I don’t want to brag, but I was an excellent salesperson. I could work in sales and be home by 5 pm most days.
In those ponderings and wondering how I would write a feature about Lynn to give her the credit she deserves, I realized how I can properly thank her for the work she did over the last several weeks and over her career – be more like Lynn Walsh.
In recent weeks, I’ve remembered why I deal with the long, strenuous work weeks, and why I sacrifice time at home to sit in my office – the student-athletes. Every day I wake up and go to work to publicize the great things the student-athletes accomplish, and I do it with a smile because they are everything to my career.
Lynn was recently quoted in a local paper stating, “Student-athletes are a large part of [the Bridgewater] community. They are what makes everything worth it. They are funny, caring and talented, and make my day on a regular basis and can turn a bad day around in an instant.”
And she is correct.
Seeing Lynn shoulder the load of media attention without flinching, and help orchestrate a safe place for those student-athletes returning to campus after a difficult, scary few days away to get together for fun, all the way to
writing the first game recap that ever made me cry, she has shown me what it truly means to be in this field – going above and beyond, for the sake of the student-athletes.
She has gone above and beyond for the sake of the Bridgewater College student-athletes for the last several years, and, for me, I’m honored to now be across the hall from her. I’ve never seen a student-athlete leave Lynn’s office without a smile, and I’ve never seen an interaction that didn’t include a laugh.
And did I mention she has been in her current role as director of athletic media relations for less than six months? From the pressures of taking over an office with 24 sports in mid-September, hiring a staff along the way, and then navigating tragedy, she has done it all and never expected a “thank you”.
I also have come to know Lynn over the last four months. She doesn’t want any praise, or thank yous. She just wants to do her job to the best of her abilities and do the best for the student-athletes. And I know she’ll read this and be mad that I submitted it, but I had to say “thank you” somehow and I knew just saying it wasn’t enough.
Let me remind you that across all the annoyances, the strange emails at random times, the requests for things we just cannot do, or anything else, our job is to promote the student-athletes doing what they love to do. And we should all love doing that. You never know when that will be taken away because things happen that no one can predict and sometimes they don’t make sense.
So, to the athletic communication profession, I challenge you: in the face of fear, challenge and wonder, be more like Lynn Walsh. Do it for the student-athletes.
I know I will.
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