Streaks Alumni Profile- Debbie DeGraff 1976

Today’s Streaks Alumni Profile features Debbie DeGraff from the GHS Class of 1976. 

Debbie was one of the female athletes of the 1970’s that started sports at GHS. These athletes experienced the joy of getting to play sports but also the frustrations of being treated as second class compared to male athletes. 

Debbie was a member of the ‘75-‘76 Streaks field hockey team that took 3rd in State. She was an outstanding an athlete and an even better student. Debbie was a model for future Silver Streaks. 

As an athlete, she was selected to the Knox College Athletic Hall of Fame. 

After getting degrees from Knox and the University of Michigan, Debbie has had a career as college professor. 

 

Favorite teachers/classes at GHS

I had many very good teachers/classes at GHS. My favorite was Calculus with Ms. Gates.

 

Sports/activities at GHS

I lettered in volleyball, basketball, softball and field hockey. I was a latecomer to field hockey, trying out only in my senior year because I knew so many of the players and Coach Hoehn well by then.

 

Best memories of growing up in Galesburg/attending GHS

My family and friends. Playing sports in the neighborhood with my brother and other boys. And, after Title IX, finally being able to play organized competitive sports in high school.

Do you remember joys and excitement of being on the first teams , that sense of “getting to play?” 

Absolutely! It was so much fun and so rewarding that I think most of us focused on the positives of the opportunity and did not dwell on the second-class treatment.

All athletes feel pride in their achievements. As you look back, as a pioneer of women’s sports, do you feel a special pride?  How do you feel what you went thru has served you well throughout life?

I do feel that pride in retrospect. At the time, I did not think much about the pioneering aspect of what we were doing. I was totally focused on playing! Playing organized sports, and being successful in those pursuits (both at GHS and Knox), helped me to become more self-confident in general, with benefits for all parts of my life. 

In addition, those experiences instilled in me an appreciation for physical fitness that has served me well (despite the damage to my hips of all the running and jumping!). I also greatly value the life-long friendships that formed with some of my teammates. 

Lastly, a very important consequence for me of playing sports at GHS is that it made it possible for me to attend Knox College, which was truly a life changing experience. Plans had been made for me to attend one of the large state universities. Not only would I not have been able to play competitive sports at the university level, it also would not have been as good a match for me as Knox for other reasons. 

Al Reilly, who was the head football coach at Knox, had recently been tasked with also coaching the fledgling women’s basketball team. Fortunately, he knew my parents and, thus, knew of my academic and athletic accomplishments at GHS. He approached my parents about me attending Knox; they told him that would be great but Knox was too expensive for us. 

He arranged for meetings with the college’s admission and financial aid staff, and within a few days I was headed to Knox! I have been told that I was the first recruited female athlete at Knox (I don’t know if that is true). 

I was welcomed in the fall by Michel Loomis, the volleyball coach, who immediately made me feel like I belonged. She remains a dear friend. Without the mentoring and support I received from professors and coaches who knew me well, I would never have found my way to the career path that has been so interesting and rewarding.

 

Education after GHS

 BA Knox College; PhD University of Michigan (Economics)

 

Career

My first position after graduate school was with one of the United Nations agencies in Geneva, Switzerland (The International Labour Office). 

I left that job after a couple of years, having decided that I was more interested in an academic career. In 1989, I began a post-doctoral research fellowship at the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina. 

I joined the Economics faculty at Bowdoin College in 1991 and retired in 2022 as a full professor. In addition to teaching and research activities, I held a number of administrative positions at Bowdoin, including a term as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. 

Related to my academic career, I served for nearly 20 years on the Board of Trustees at Knox (and am still involved to a lesser extent, with my term having ended in 2022).

 

What you are up-to today?

Enjoying having more time for family, friends, research, travel and other activities. Also, since January of 2025, doing a lot of PT due to two hip replacements!

 

Advice for present students/athletes

Take good care of your joints!

     

Be fully engaged with your education, in the classroom and through extra-curricular activities.