Photo by Steve Buchanan Photography
Saints Peter & Paul High School junior Hattie Messick formulated her career path a long time ago. Messick wants to be a psychologist and she will major in that discipline at Liberty University, where she’ll attend the school on a lacrosse scholarship. She carries a 4.4 weighted grade-point average.
“I just like helping people, being there for them, and working with the mind,” Messick says. “And talking them through situations.”
Messick wants to be a child psychologist, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, Lee Nelson, who worked as a child psychologist for three decades. “I always looked up to him,” Mesick explains. “And he always told me I would be a great psychologist or therapist. He told me stories of how he has helped people. He showed me some of his books and I just fell in love with it.”
Mesick, a Cambridge resident, has always liked working with kids. She has tutored freshmen in both math and English, worked as a camp counselor, and babysat throughout high school.
“I have seen the struggles kids have had in school, from elementary to high school,” Messick says. “Helping them through that is appealing to me.”
Liberty in Virginia also appealed to Messick…big-time. The three-sport athlete committed to the Flames in September and will sign a National Letter of Intent in the fall. She also strongly considered Mercer University in Georgia.
“There’s so much I like about Liberty that I don’t know even where to start,” Messick says. “Their sports complex is amazing. The coaches and players act like they have known you their whole life. They talk to you like they are your best friend. I love that. I am a shy person, but the players got me to open up.”
The 5-foot-6 Messick made the varsity squad in high school as a freshman and put together an eye-catching sophomore year. She earned First-Team Eastern Shore Independent Athletic Conference honors after she amassed a team-leading 47 goals and 38 assists. She scored six goals in a win over The Salisbury School and four goals in a conference championship game victory over Worchester Prep with four goals. She also notched seven goals in a romp over Indian Creek during her freshman year.
Messick thrives with her outstanding quickness, accurate shot, and excellent leadership skills. “She has impeccable stick skills and I just love to watch her play,” Saints Peter & Paul Girls Lacrosse Coach Alison Beyer says of the 16-year-old. “She has a high lacrosse I.Q. She is very competitive and is always looking to improve.”
Messick says she would not be the player she is today without her four-year stint of playing club lacrosse with the Lady Blue Crabs, who compete in tournaments as far away as Texas and Florida. In the process, she’s gone from raw player to elite.
“My shot when I first joined the Lady Blue Crabs was horrible,” says Messick, who has been playing lacrosse for 11 years overall. “Their coaches are amazing. Every single day they worked toward helping me improve it. They offered individual sessions.”
Blue Crabs Co-Head Coach Emily Ewin adds, “She is so coachable. She is super micro-focused. She really works on the smallest things to improve.”
Messick also excels in basketball as a point guard and in soccer from the striker position. She has been named First-Team All-Conference in both sports. All of her coaches like to talk about how Messick is well-rounded. “She is the epitome of the student-athlete,” Beyer says. “She is so mature and beyond her years.”
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