It’s not every student who gets to leave a lasting legacy at their university. But when the women’s ice hockey team hops over the boards next year for its expected inaugural season, it will be because of trailblazers like Claudia Maguire.

Launching a new athletic team is more a marathon than a sprint. And Maguire’s mentor, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Sheila Smith, admires how she’s pursued this goal for the past several years with both patience and “dogged determination.” Not to mention, Maguire has balanced six days a week of practice and numerous team fundraisers with a double major in chemistry and engineering. “We have a few students now and then who pull it off, and they land very well after UM-Dearborn, but it is a lot of work,” Smith said. “Claudia appears poised to become the next such success story.”

Maguire knows that achieving big dreams takes the right support. When asked about her most defining moment at UM-Dearborn, she thinks back to a time last semester when all her academic, family and personal obligations were starting to feel overwhelming.

“I went to one of my professor's office hours intending to discuss classwork,” Maguire said. “I arrived visibly exhausted and my professor took the time to let me know that he was always there to talk about anything even if it had nothing to do with school. The support he offered showed me that every person in the UM-Dearborn community cares about you; it had a huge impact on me.”

You can often find her doing the same for others. When she’s not practicing, training or studying for one of her two majors, you’ll find Maguire coaching a hockey team for children with disabilities; or helping her fellow honors students chart their own paths to success in a mentorship program she also helped start.