On December 2, Belmont Hill welcomed hockey superstar Meghan Duggan to speak in Chapel about her leadership on and off the rink. An Olympic gold medalist, former captain of the U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey Team, and former teammate of Mrs. Phinney, Meghan offered insights into her struggles with equality throughout her career through an on-stage interview conducted by Varsity Hockey captains Jin Lee ’25, Lindan Verville ’25, and Mikey Sullivan ’25.
Following a video montage featuring her career highlights, Duggan highlighted her journey on ice; she mentioned how tight her bond was with her teammates during her time at the University of Wisconsin and how that positively impacted her performance. She later talked about the hardships she faced in the Olympics—coming just short of the gold medal in 2010 and 2014—and how that motivated her to do everything she could to win Gold in Pyeongchang in 2018.
Duggan showcased her leadership skills as a leading proponent for gender equality in hockey. She led efforts to secure equal pay and improved working conditions for female hockey players of all ages. She played a pivotal role in the U.S. Women’s National Team’s groundbreaking fight for pay equity with USA Hockey in 2017, which resulted in a historic living wage agreement.
In closing her speech, Duggan reminded students of the importance of showing care for each other; “there is nothing more important that you can do than show care to people.”
Will Jones ’26 remarked that the speech was “especially powerful and thought-provoking.” The Belmont Hill community is pleased to have Duggan speak about her lessons in chapel, and boys will look to reflect her advice on both the academic and athletic sides of campus.
Indresh Chandel