Lauren Mencarini Essig(’96)

While attending RHS Lauren Mencarini Essig (“96) had a successful and busy athletic career, playing and winning multiple awards for field hockey, basketball and softball.

With her combined impressive academic and athletic abilities, Essig won Player Award (MVP) for field hockey her senior year, the basketball Scholar Athlete Award from the U.S. Army Reserve and made the senior all-star field hockey team.

“Lauren had a lot of power and speed packed into her little frame,” former softball teammate Kim Magro (“97) said. “[She] was a leader on and off the field. She was a positive role model and always full of encouragement.”

Essig attended the University of Delaware and played intramural basketball and softball. She studied to become an exercise physiologist, but instead became a PE teacher and boys soccer coach, as well as a mother and wife.

Looking back, Essig recalled some fond memories of playing sports at RHS, such as TPa��ing coaches’ houses, listening to Pearl Jam in the car on the way to basketball practice and playing a softball game on the day of prom with manicured nails.

“That’s what Rockville did for me, really built me up, felt secure [so] I could be successful at what I did,” Essig said. “Those were the best days of my life…I remember it like it was yesterday.”