By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
 
The past four years have been anything but normal. Then again, there's nothing normal about navigating four years of college — in the classroom and the athletic realm — during a pandemic.
 
Yet the Class of '22 got it done. And they'll have some memorable stories to share someday with their grandchildren.
 
Here is how seven soon-to-be graduates will see their next chapter.
                                                                                                          
Starr Howard, lacrosse
Degree: BS, Psychological Sciences
What's next: Graduate school, Clemson University.
 
Starr Howard is, as she puts it, "shifting gears a bit." After four years at William & Mary on the medical track, her next step is an MBA program in entrepreneurship and innovation.
 
"When I was shadowing clinicians, they said that when they opened their own practices, the business side was a little bit challenging," Howard said. "So I thought about learning more about the business side of things.
 
"My hope is to be a psychiatrist and maybe going into a field that is a little underrepresented — sports psychiatry. But I'm definitely open to studying family medicine or the neuro side. I've always been interested in the brain."
 
Howard isn't putting lacrosse aside just yet. She will take her fifth (a.k.a. COVID) year of eligibility at Clemson, which will play its inaugural season of women's lacrosse in the spring of 2023. Joining her will be W&M teammate and fellow '22 graduate Belle Martire.
 
The Tigers' coach will be Allison Evans Kwolek '03, a former Tribe midfielder. Kwolek was head coach at Richmond from 2013-22.
 
"I'm older than when she saw me my freshman year when she was coaching at Richmond," Howard said. "I hope I can show her I have a lot of those aspects but that I've also refined my game in a different fashion.
 
"I'm excited but also a little nervous to be playing in the ACC. Those girls are the best of the best in this sport. I've picked a school where now I have to play the best lacrosse I've ever played in my whole life or I might be embarrassed on ESPN's top ten."
 
Amonyae Watson, football
Degree: B.S., kinesiology and exercise science
What's next: Internship, Deloitte.
 
When Amonyae Watson joined the Tribe's football program in the fall of 2017, his dream was stardom. One day, he hoped to be able to make a living playing the game and provide for his family.
 
Instead, thanks to a bad luck streak of injuries, Watson played in only four games — all as a redshirt sophomore in '19. His dream was shattered, but instead of giving up, he created a new one.
 
Friday night at Zable Stadium, Watson will become the first member of his family to earn a college degree.
 
"For me, football was like that one thing, regardless of what was going on, that was my happy place," Watson said. "But I couldn't allow (not playing) to be the reason I failed. I had to pick myself up, get myself together, and finish school at the very least."
 
Watson's next step will be the financial world. This summer, he will complete a fellowship with the Make A Play Foundation, a professional development organization that prepares underrepresented athletes for executive careers in competitive industries.
 
One of its sponsors is Deloitte, an accounting firm with offices in more than 150 countries and territories around the world.
 
"If I get into Deloitte as a financial consultant, I want one day to become a partner of that firm," Watson said. "That's the end goal for me.
 
"I wanted to use football to take care of my family, so I'm trying to figure out what's my next passion. I'm leaning toward the financial field."
 
Cara Menges, field hockey
Degree: BA, Government.
What's next: Junior Consultant, Perigean Technologies
 
In four seasons, Cara Menges started 58 of a possible 60 games — the two missed, she said were due to COVID. She was a three-time All-CAA pick and team captain.
 
Brian Moon, the father of W&M midfielder Jayden Moon, was impressed with Menges' overall package. So much, in fact, that he offered her a job.
 
In February, Menges began a remote internship with Perigean Technologies, a research and design company that helps organizations improve cognitive performance through engineering and learning. She began part-time work on Monday and is to go full-time in August.
 
Menges will work remote, which gives her great flexibility.
 
"Mr. Moon presented me with a nice opportunity to learn about something I had never learned about before through an internship opportunity," Menges said. "So I thought, why not try something new, especially since it was remote and I could fit it in my school schedule.
 
"From there, I really enjoyed it. And I learned I could do it out in Denver."
 
Menges' two siblings, Sean and Erin, live in the Mile High City. Cara will move in with Erin, a former W&M field hockey player, and her roommate.
 
Another W&M connection, former field hockey player Emma MacLeod, helped Menges line up a side gig. From August through October, she will coach field hockey at Kent Denver, a private school in the Denver suburbs.
 
"Emma works there, and she reached out to see if I'd be interested," Menges said. "I hadn't really thought about it, but why not? It could be a fun experience, so I agreed to it."
 
Nelson Donynath, soccer
Degree: BBA, Marketing.
What's next: Starting a company
 
Many dream of joining a business after graduation. Nelson Donynath plans to start one in his hometown of Geneva, Switzerland.
 
"In a nutshell, its main product would be a fundraising platform tailored for Swiss non-profits," Donynath said. "The main value propositions of this solution would be the cost-advantage, speed and transparency of its transactions.
 
"I am moving on with my professional career with an extremely valuable degree. I am very excited to take on my new venture, and I am glad that I can always count on the network of friends, coaches and mentors that I have developed here in Virginia."
 
Donynath began his collegiate career at Central Baptist College in Conway, Ark., where he was a starting defender. The following year, he move on to Louisburg (N.C.) College, where he was one of two players to start all 20 games.
 
He played his final two seasons at W&M, including a shortened schedule in the spring of 2021. On Friday, he will receive his degree and move on to his next chapter.
 
"Unfortunately, my time here in Williamsburg is already coming to an end," he said. "I have been extremely lucky to be part of the men's soccer program, not only because of the personal connections I made in my two years here but also for the new perspectives and opportunities it offers me.
 
"In retrospective, the last two years were very special and challenging with the pandemic. That's why I am even more proud of graduating this spring."
 
Anna Kenna, swimming
Degree: BBA, marketing; BA, government.
What's next: Staff assistant, U.S. House of Representatives
 
Having grown up in the family business, Anna Kenna surprised no one when she decided to major in marketing. But along the way, her interest in politics led to a double major and a job on Capitol Hill.
 
"Initially, I was just going to major in business because all my siblings have taken that route and I thought it was the natural thing to do," Kenna said. "Then I took Intro to American Politics the spring of my freshman year and I just loved it. So I decided to a secondary major. And politics is going to be my career."
 
For the last nine years, she's been a part-time retail supervisor in that family business — Lobster Maine-ia, a seafood outlet in Chantilly. But Kenna was just as interested in politics.
 
"I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to history and government," she said, "but I didn't know I had any ambitions to work on Capitol Hill until the last two years."
 
As a collegiate swimmer, Kenna finished her career in the CAA Championship by taking gold in the 100 back. The Tribe finished first as a team for the first time since 2017.
 
"It's been an incredible four years of swimming with a lot ups and downs," she said. "Getting cut (briefly in September 2020) was the most unpredictable thing anyone could have imagined, but it brought us closer.
 
"I had no idea how much support the sport has from its alumni. I think that speaks to how special the team is."
 
Jack Kelly, tennis
Degree: BBA, finance
What's next: Investment Bank Sales & Trading Analyst, Credit Suisse
 
Jack Kelly also was raised in the family business. Kelly's Home Centre in The Bahamas carries just about everything from dinnerware sets and jewelry boxes to air conditioners and lawn mowers.
 
"It's like a smaller Home Depot," Kelly said. "It's been in our family for generations."
 
With that in his DNA, Kelly majored in finance with a concentration on entrepreneurship. With graduation days away, he has a job lined up with Credit Suisse, a global investment bank, and will be living with former teammate Brenden Volk in Manhattan.
 
"My parents were always talking about the different ways to run a business, and that clicked with me," Kelly said. "When I committed to William & Mary my senior year of high school, I knew I could get a top academic degree and use that in my future.
 
"To see that all come together was a huge relief. I was super excited when I got this job offer."
 
On the tennis court, Kelly went out with his best season. As a sophomore and junior, injuries had limited him to only two matches. But as a senior, Kelly went 6-4 in dual matches, including 2-0 in the conference. He won his final match in two sets against Elon in the CAA tournament.
 
"To see I could have a big contribution to the team on the court really made it a special season for me," he said."
 
Christian Marsh, gymnastics
Degree: BA, Government
Next up: William & Mary Law School
 
As we previously documented, January was an eventful month for Christian Marsh.
 
First, he was stranded on I-95 for nearly 22 hours in a snowstorm. Nine days after that harrowing experience, he took the LSAT in a New York hotel hours before competing — and winning the parallel bars — in the West Point Open.
 
Life was fairly normal in February. Then came the morning of March 18, when he opened a congratulatory email on his acceptance to William & Mary Law School.
 
"The first thing I did was call my mom," said Marsh, whose mother is an attorney for the federal government. "I had my eye on the crew neck they have in the campus shop, so I bought it and took pictures standing in front of the law school."
 
Marsh will be back for a fifth season while attending his first year of law school. He will be one of two W&M athletes in law school next year — football player Carl Fowler is the other.
 
"When he first heard I was applying to law school, he introduced me to professors and offered study materials," Marsh said. "Carl has gone above and beyond to be extraordinarily helpful."
 
Marsh also will be training to make the Jamaican national team and compete in the 2024 Olympics. His father, Delroy, is a native Jamaican and emigrated to the U.S. at 13 years old. Jamaica has never sent a male gymnast to the Olympics.