University Southern California Trojans
Getting To Know Leah Disher
December 01, 2023 | Track & Field
Graduate transfer Leah Disher shares how her career goals and college experiences have shaped her into the athlete she is today in the latest "Getting To Know." Disher, who competes on the cross country adn track & field teams, explains her excitement about her future and the people supporting her.
Q: When did you decide that you wanted to compete at the collegiate level?
L.D.: I actually wanted to compete in soccer and track, but I ended up picking track. I had a stress fracture and that took about a year to recover from. While I was trying to get back from an injury from soccer, I focused on track and everything kind of flowed from there.
Q: What was the hardest thing about your recovery?
L.D.: It was really difficult because the year before I had an injury that was on and off and then I got another injury a year later. The waiting, watching and trying to heal was difficult because I wasn't able to compete in either sport for an entire year which was taxing.
Q: You transferred from Clemson. How was your experience there?
L.D.: I liked it. Both of my parents went there and it was fun and I learned a lot. Overall, it was a good experience. It's funny because I lived in the building where my parents got engaged and had their engagement party. My grandparents lived very close to there because that's where my mom's from. I got to see my grandparents on the weekend which was always nice for me. When I graduated, I got to take photos with them which was very special for me. Those are some of my core memories from my experience there.
Q: What made you want to continue your athletic career past undergrad?
L.D.: COVID was a big part of my experience, so I felt like I missed out on going into class. I love track but wasn't able to compete. With one year left of eligibility, I thought "Why not?" I only have one chance to use my extra year so why not finish it out?
Q: You're from Georgia and there's a really strong track culture there. What prompted you to go to school out of state?
L.D.: My experience in high school really affected that. On paper, I was pretty good my freshman year. But because of my injuries sophomore and junior year, I didn't have a lot of recruiting opportunities because coaches thought I just disappeared. When I was training my senior year one of my coaches helped me get in contact with one of the Clemson coaches because he knew I wanted to run in college. To get there I had to run my freshman time. I didn't run the time I needed until our very last meet in the last event and the Clemson coach was there, so I was super excited.
Q: After having such a good experience at Clemson what led you to USC?
L.D.: I wanted to go someplace that would help set me up with a strong future. I really wanted good quality work and education. Not that I didn't have that before, but I wanted to be even more prepared and expand my network in relation to job opportunities. I also wanted to see what I could do with one more year of track. Knowing USC's history, I knew this would be a place that challenged me academically and athletically.
Q: When you were speaking about your family before I can tell they've played a big role in your life. Would you say they're your biggest support system?
L.D.: I would definitely say that. I've been extremely blessed to have parents who have always supported me in my extracurriculars and sports. They work really hard, and education is super important in my family, but they always wanted me to do something that I loved outside of school. My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader and pushed to remind me that I can do whatever I put my mind to. My dad has always been there for me emotionally which has been super helpful and I'm very appreciative of them for that. They're just great people and also geniuses, so I've always thought they were the coolest parents.
Q: What do they do?
L.D.: My dad is in I.T. for a supply chain company and my mom is a cardiac rehab director. I majored in finance and minored in law with an emphasis in real estate, so pretty different from what they're doing.
Q: What are you getting your Masters in now?
L.D.: I'm studying business analytics. I'm hoping to work in financial services as a consultant. I actually got an internship for the summer which I'm really excited about.
Q: Congrats! Tell me more about it!
L.D.: It's in the financial services customer operations sector, so I'll be able to shadow people looking at the different industries and analyzing different data from whichever projects they assign me. I think it'll be a good opportunity to learn more about the industry and where I want to be in the future. I've been thinking about going to law school next. I like the idea of being able to help people and companies because I feel like finances are the one that inhibits people from doing what they want to do or need to do.
Q: What's been one of your favorite parts of your program so far?
L.D.: There's a lot more teamwork compared to undergrad. There's also a lot of opportunities here for us. Last Saturday we got to compete in a case study competition for Bridgeport Industries where the focus was on one of their successful factories in Cleveland, Ohio. Our job was to look at all the factors they considered, make our own analysis for their next location, and propose why the location we picked was the best choice. We ended up making it to the semi-finals and I even got to talk to the judge which was really nice.
Q: Outside of that have you had the chance to do other things you're interested in?
L.D.: For sure. I'm a Christian, so I've gotten to go to a lot of Bible studies with my teammates because we hold our own Bible studies, so that's been really nice and fun to have. I haven't been able to do a lot of sightseeing of L.A., but we go to the beach for practice sometimes. I haven't been to the beach in six years, so going there to run was super nice. We had a bonfire out there for team bonding and I'm from the south when I think of a bonfire I think of camping. I didn't know that was a thing, but it was really cool to see.
Q: When did you decide that you wanted to compete at the collegiate level?
L.D.: I actually wanted to compete in soccer and track, but I ended up picking track. I had a stress fracture and that took about a year to recover from. While I was trying to get back from an injury from soccer, I focused on track and everything kind of flowed from there.
Q: What was the hardest thing about your recovery?
L.D.: It was really difficult because the year before I had an injury that was on and off and then I got another injury a year later. The waiting, watching and trying to heal was difficult because I wasn't able to compete in either sport for an entire year which was taxing.
Q: You transferred from Clemson. How was your experience there?
L.D.: I liked it. Both of my parents went there and it was fun and I learned a lot. Overall, it was a good experience. It's funny because I lived in the building where my parents got engaged and had their engagement party. My grandparents lived very close to there because that's where my mom's from. I got to see my grandparents on the weekend which was always nice for me. When I graduated, I got to take photos with them which was very special for me. Those are some of my core memories from my experience there.
Q: What made you want to continue your athletic career past undergrad?
L.D.: COVID was a big part of my experience, so I felt like I missed out on going into class. I love track but wasn't able to compete. With one year left of eligibility, I thought "Why not?" I only have one chance to use my extra year so why not finish it out?
Q: You're from Georgia and there's a really strong track culture there. What prompted you to go to school out of state?
L.D.: My experience in high school really affected that. On paper, I was pretty good my freshman year. But because of my injuries sophomore and junior year, I didn't have a lot of recruiting opportunities because coaches thought I just disappeared. When I was training my senior year one of my coaches helped me get in contact with one of the Clemson coaches because he knew I wanted to run in college. To get there I had to run my freshman time. I didn't run the time I needed until our very last meet in the last event and the Clemson coach was there, so I was super excited.
Q: After having such a good experience at Clemson what led you to USC?
L.D.: I wanted to go someplace that would help set me up with a strong future. I really wanted good quality work and education. Not that I didn't have that before, but I wanted to be even more prepared and expand my network in relation to job opportunities. I also wanted to see what I could do with one more year of track. Knowing USC's history, I knew this would be a place that challenged me academically and athletically.
Q: When you were speaking about your family before I can tell they've played a big role in your life. Would you say they're your biggest support system?
L.D.: I would definitely say that. I've been extremely blessed to have parents who have always supported me in my extracurriculars and sports. They work really hard, and education is super important in my family, but they always wanted me to do something that I loved outside of school. My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader and pushed to remind me that I can do whatever I put my mind to. My dad has always been there for me emotionally which has been super helpful and I'm very appreciative of them for that. They're just great people and also geniuses, so I've always thought they were the coolest parents.
Q: What do they do?
L.D.: My dad is in I.T. for a supply chain company and my mom is a cardiac rehab director. I majored in finance and minored in law with an emphasis in real estate, so pretty different from what they're doing.
Q: What are you getting your Masters in now?
L.D.: I'm studying business analytics. I'm hoping to work in financial services as a consultant. I actually got an internship for the summer which I'm really excited about.
Q: Congrats! Tell me more about it!
L.D.: It's in the financial services customer operations sector, so I'll be able to shadow people looking at the different industries and analyzing different data from whichever projects they assign me. I think it'll be a good opportunity to learn more about the industry and where I want to be in the future. I've been thinking about going to law school next. I like the idea of being able to help people and companies because I feel like finances are the one that inhibits people from doing what they want to do or need to do.
Q: What's been one of your favorite parts of your program so far?
L.D.: There's a lot more teamwork compared to undergrad. There's also a lot of opportunities here for us. Last Saturday we got to compete in a case study competition for Bridgeport Industries where the focus was on one of their successful factories in Cleveland, Ohio. Our job was to look at all the factors they considered, make our own analysis for their next location, and propose why the location we picked was the best choice. We ended up making it to the semi-finals and I even got to talk to the judge which was really nice.
Q: Outside of that have you had the chance to do other things you're interested in?
L.D.: For sure. I'm a Christian, so I've gotten to go to a lot of Bible studies with my teammates because we hold our own Bible studies, so that's been really nice and fun to have. I haven't been able to do a lot of sightseeing of L.A., but we go to the beach for practice sometimes. I haven't been to the beach in six years, so going there to run was super nice. We had a bonfire out there for team bonding and I'm from the south when I think of a bonfire I think of camping. I didn't know that was a thing, but it was really cool to see.
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