Today we’d like to shine the LtN Alumni spotlight on forLtN Panama’s former Program Director, Caroline Rath, who is making incredible strides - both physically and professionally.
After graduating from The Ohio State University as a Division I field hockey player in 2018, Caroline moved to Bocas del Toro, Panama, where she piloted Lacrosse the Nations’ second international site for 13 months. Since leaving LtN, she has dedicated her early professional career to the sports industry. With nearly five years of event operations management under her belt, Caroline now works for New Balance.
As a New Balance Technical Sales and Field Representative, Caroline is responsible for over 30 ‘accounts’ (stores) that sell New Balance products within her territory of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and South Jersey. Since Caroline works in a hybrid manner - 2 days at an at-home office and the other days on the road traveling from her home in Philadelphia to her accounts every week. These accounts include a slew of New Balance stores, running specialty stores, REIs and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
So what does Caroline actually do? Caroline’s work duties range in scope and scale: she is the face of New Balance marketing for her territory regarding social media curation, she manages shoe launches, updates all store staff on new products through technical clinics and group runs (literally, a run) to demo the products, and assists with all major global run events sponsored by New Balance (ex: the New York City and London Marathons, Indoor and Outdoor Nationals, and several half marathons). Needless to say, Caroline is a busy bee, working hard to grow the New Balance brand and grow herself.
“What I love about this role is the flexibility and the bandwidth that I have to fine-tune my own discovery process, my strengths, and passions. I love working with people as I work cross-centrally within New Balance, raising awareness of the brand and tying it into my passions of mental health, nutrition, and fitness. This role allows me to develop personally and professionally because I can dip my toes into where I potentially find myself down the line.”
Caroline’s goal is to join the Global Marketing or Merchandising Team at New Balance. She is excited by the prospect of creating the blueprints for New Balance running events, acknowledging that “it would be an ideal setting for [her], and [her] current position puts [her] foot in the door in terms of reaching the next step.” Recently, Caroline has certainly taken many steps…
This past April, Caroline ran the D.C. Cherry Blossom 10-mile Race in dedication to Lacrosse the Nations. Through this race, she raised nearly $1k to kickstart an English support program at our site in Panama. Next up on her list? The New York City Marathon this upcoming season.
We’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Caroline on all that she has accomplished and all that we know she will in the future. We are rooting for you Caroline, in all that you do personally and professionally! Thank you for being an incredible role model for all LtN student-athletes, volunteers, and our greater LtN Team.
-Maria McDonough, Panama Country Director