Brandywine Alumni Spotlight: Farrell Everett, class of 2023

MEDIA, Pa. – Penn State alumna Farrell Everett, class of 2023, is having a ball as a Philadelphia Phillies ball girl.

Everett began her Penn State journey at Brandywine in 2019, majoring in communications. She said she chose to attend Brandywine because of its proximity to home and her ability to play collegiate softball.

“The close-knit community of Brandywine really attracted me to the campus. Also, its proximity to my house was incredible — I’m only a 30-minute drive from campus,” she said. “Softball has also always been really important to me, so getting the opportunity to continue my softball career at Brandywine not only played a role in me attending Brandywine but also me staying here.”

Everett was very involved during her time at Brandywine, as she was a catcher for Brandywine’s softball team, an active member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, and started a club called Hidden Opponent, an organization dedicated to ending the stigma surrounding mental health and student-athletes.

During her time on the softball team, Brandywine won three consecutive Penn State University Athletic Conference titles and was crowned the national champion of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) in her last year. She noted the championship win as her favorite memory during her time at Brandywine.

“The championship game of the USCAA World Series was definitely my favorite memory during my time at Brandywine,” she said.

“We were in the bottom of the seventh inning and were down eight to nine — we were two runs away from winning. I remember Jess James (class of 2024) led off the inning with a triple, and at that point, we were getting excited in the dugout since we had a shot at winning. Then, Lexi Bussenger (class of 2026) had a base hit and Kaylee Mushinski (class of 2026) hit the game-winning run. I remember piling onto the dugout as two other fourth-year students and I were crying because we ended our college careers with a national championship win. It was the best experience. I was surrounded by all my best friends.”

Upon graduating from Brandywine, Everett went on to continue her softball career as a youth coach. She also made her dreams come true when she started her post-graduation career as a ball girl for the Philadelphia Phillies. As a ball girl — the Phillies’ official title for the position — not only is she on the first- and third-base lines grounding foul balls, but she also partakes in community outreach initiatives like Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (a Major League Baseball initiative) and the Urban Youth Academy (a Phillies initiative).

Everett said being a ball girl has been a dream of hers since she was a kid.

“My dad had Phillies season tickets when I was growing up, so he would take me to games all the time because I loved the team and the catcher at the time,” she said. “One time when we went to a game, I was sitting in the stands, and an older lady pointed to the field and said, ‘You see the ball girl down there? That’s going to be you one day.’ It’s a very full-circle moment because I’m actually a ball girl now. Now, every time I see a softball player in the stadium, I tell them what I was told as a kid and they’re going to be in my shoes one day.”

Everett said that her favorite part about being a Phillies ball girl is getting to engage with the fans and youth players.

“There are some people who come to the stadium and their faces light up when they see it. It’s such a cool experience because I was the same way when I saw ball girls when I was younger,” she said. “Also, I really enjoy meeting all the young players through the initiatives we participate with. They have the same drive and ambition I had when I was 10-12 years old, and it’s really rewarding to teach them the game I love.

“One thing I always say is that softball gave me so much, so I want to give back to softball in any way I can, so it’s such a rewarding experience getting to give my all to these kids that love softball as much as I do. Softball gave me a lot. It gave me my job, my college experience and some of my best friends. Getting to see these kids and watching them excel in my favorite sport is awesome. There’s nothing like it.”

When asked what advice she would give to Penn State students, Everett said to be on campus and be involved in as many activities as you can.

“I was in college during the pandemic, and I feel like it made college go by really fast, so savor every moment by being on campus as much as you can,” she said. “When I was able to be in-person on campus, I was here until late at night, whether it was for softball, going to the cafeteria with friends or studying in the library. Finding a public space that I was comfortable in was really important to me coming back to college post-pandemic.

“I got very involved with athletics during my time at Brandywine, which allowed me to meet all the other student-athletes on campus. I even got to do a social media marketing internship for Brandywine Athletics. Getting involved and going to campus activities and events was great. This campus is awesome and it’s really great to be a part of it.”