Sportscaster Lesley Visser has covered sports for more than 40 years. She shared some of her thoughts and career experiences with Upper School students on Monday, May 7.
As a young girl growing up in Ohio, Ms. Visser was intrigued with Sports Illustrated and when asked by her mother what she wanted to be when she grew up, she replied, "A sports writer." According to Ms. Visser, "That was like saying I wanted to go to the moon. My mother said, 'That's great! Sometimes you have to cross when it says don't walk.'"
That phrase has stayed with Ms. Visser throughout her remarkable career and is now the title of her new book, Sometimes you have to cross when it says don't walk: A Memoir of Breaking Barriers.
At Boston College, Ms. Visser worked on the school newspaper and was awarded a Carnegie Foundation Grant after graduation. The grant was given to a select group of women who were interested in working in male-dominated fields. Ms. Visser went on to spend ten years at The Boston Globe. Then, CBS Sports hired her when they were "looking for a woman who knew sports," said Ms. Visser.
Throughout her career, Ms. Visser has covered the World Series, Super Bowls, the Final Four, Triple Crown, U.S. Open, the Olympics, and the World Skating Championships. She encouraged students to follow their passion. "If you don't love it, don't do it."
