From Olympic water polo to the World Economic Forum, how five Gators built on their SHS foundation.
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Quick Answer for Busy Parents
Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton has produced alumni across professional and Olympic athletics, visual art, and literature — including a U.S. Women’s National Team soccer player, two Olympic-level water polo and swimming athletes, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and an award-winning novelist. Their range reflects SHS’s whole-child model: rigorous academics paired with real support for athletic, artistic, and creative pursuits.
Athletes Who Went Pro and Olympic
Tierna Davidson was the youngest player on the United States’ 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup-winning squad and has gone on to become one of the sport’s top defenders, currently playing for the Chicago Stars FC of the NWSL and the U.S. Women’s National Team.
Caroline “KK” Clark represented the United States in water polo at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona and the 2016 Rio Olympics, competing at the highest levels of international play.
Kelly Crowley, a Paralympic swimmer, is a 17-time Disability Swimming National Champion, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist, and a Time Trial World Championship winner.
Curious What SHS Athletics Could Offer Your Child?
Cardinal Education can help you evaluate fit for Sacred Heart’s athletics and academic programs together.
An Artist and a Writer Who Redefined Their Fields
Drue Kataoka, a Japanese American visual artist, blends art, technology, and social impact in work exhibited internationally; she was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Melissa Pritchard, an award-winning short story writer, novelist, essayist, and journalist, has earned critical acclaim for the depth and storytelling in her body of work.
What Their Paths Have in Common
| Alumna | Field & Achievement |
| Tierna Davidson | Pro & National Team soccer — 2019 World Cup champion |
| Caroline “KK” Clark | Olympic water polo — 2016 Rio Games |
| Kelly Crowley | Paralympic swimming — 2x gold medalist |
| Drue Kataoka | Visual artist — WEF Young Global Leader |
| Melissa Pritchard | Novelist, essayist, journalist |
None of these paths look alike on paper, but each reflects a pattern SHS is explicit about cultivating: depth in one area, pursued seriously, without the school treating that pursuit as separate from academic or spiritual formation. That’s consistent with SHS’s five goals of Sacred Heart education — intellectual values, faith, social awareness, community, and personal growth — applied as much to an athlete or an artist as to a future doctor or lawyer.
Considering Sacred Heart for a Driven Student?
Whether your child’s focus is athletics, the arts, or something not yet named, Cardinal Education can help you evaluate whether SHS’s specific balance of rigor and support is the right fit and build an application that reflects your child’s actual passions rather than a generic profile.
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