Walking around the streets of Northeastern’s campus in Boston, Sydney Herrington was thinking about what the best decision would be.
She knew she could stay and work through a crowded roster that got even more full with a large incoming freshman class. Or, she could venture off onto a new path in a new setting and make the most of an unknown chance.
Pressed for a decision, the former Bishop Brady star gave herself a personal deadline of Feb. 4. When that day came, she would decide to stay or transfer. There were long conversations with her sister and one of her brothers, phone calls to her parents back in New Hampshire. But ultimately, when the date arrived, it would be her call.
The date rolled around and after a sleepless night, her decision was made.
It was time to transfer and see what else was out there for her.
Herrington was coming off a season where she skated in only one game for the Huskies — a 6-0 thrashing over at Merrimack in late January. Often a healthy scratch, she was buried on a deep roster that featured players from around the globe. Some played for their respective national teams, some played high-level junior hockey before taking the collegiate route.
She was growing unhappy with her role and with an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic, Herrington began to look around for a new home.
“I wanted to see if I could go somewhere where I can have a different role,” she said. “I’m an athlete and I want to compete, so obviously I’d like to play regularly and hopefully have a shot at contributing to the team in a different way.”
Despite wanting more from a hockey standpoint, she was never upset with her situation at Northeastern. Hockey, while an important aspect, wasn’t the be-all-end-all for Herrington. She knew that she would be leaving close friendships behind, advantageous networking opportunities and the mere chance to continue for two more years in one of the country’s most revered hockey programs.
But big changes call for bigger risks.
The transfer process was one of agony for the Bow native. She wanted a school that was just as challenging academically, where she would have opportunities to further establish a life after hockey as a business major. Of course the hockey component was important, but not more important than her education.
“I didn’t want to go somewhere where I was guaranteed to play a lot more, but maybe it wasn’t the best academically,” she said. “Hockey is only so much, I have a whole career after.”
A business major, Herrington experienced the well-known Co-Op program that Northeastern offers and with it on her resume, she only wanted to add more.
With a tight requirement list, Dartmouth College checked off all the boxes. However, it was made clear to Herrington that it would be a long shot at getting accepted. Not because she lacked a quality transcript, but because “nobody gets in and nobody leaves” as she phrased it.
Regardless, she went through the application process and made it past the most difficult round of admissions — the first. It wasn’t for another month until she would find out her fate and if she would have a new home.
“I saw the email in my inbox in April and I let it sit there,” Herrington said about her official acceptance letter. “I couldn’t open it so I went to bed and that night I dreamed like eight different dreams — four of them were I got in and four of them that I didn’t.”
Half of her dreams came true the following morning when she opened the email and received the news that made her cry tears of joy.
She was heading back to New Hampshire.
“It was a wave of emotion just because of everything that I had to do to go through with it,” she said.
Herrington not only is closer to home, but she’s back to having a more noticeable role in the ice. She’s the center on the Big Green’s third line and has played in every game this season. She got her first two points when she tallied two assists against St. Lawrence and scored her first collegiate goal against Yale.
Having early success builds confidence and while Herrington knows it’s a long season ahead, she’s just happy to have found her new home and finally back on the ice making an impact.
No longer does she walk the streets of Boston pondering which decision she should make. Instead, she walks the streets of Hanover with a renowned sense of purpose and a clear mind.