‘Sports Taught Me the Importance of Communication and Resilience’

At the Fall Sports Assembly, students heard from Friends Academy alumna Erica Sklar ’12, who played field hockey and lacrosse for the Quakers and captained both varsity teams. 

Speaking from the stage inside the Dolan Center, she credited the lessons she learned as an athlete — resilience, calm under pressure, effective communication, trusted leadership — with building the skills and mindset she needed to excel in her nursing career. 

Now a cardiothoracic surgery nurse practitioner at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, Erica works daily with patients who are either preparing for or coming out of heart surgery.

DISCOVER MORE: Friends Academy athletics develop resiliency and leadership

“I love to give people a sense of relief in such an unimaginably stressful time,” she told students. “I love to be the best they could possibly ask for, and I attribute that to always being a competitor. So many parts of the career that I chose are tied to the core values I learned as an athlete.”

At Friends Academy, Erica made the varsity field hockey team in eighth grade and the varsity lacrosse team in ninth grade. She encouraged students to participate in sports and embrace hard moments in practices the same way they dive into challenges in the classroom.

“A lot of time and effort went into conditioning and working together as a team. We had such a special bond,” she said. “Playing sports taught me the importance of good communication and resilience, and being captain of both teams gave me a sense of responsibility that I really welcomed in order to become a stronger athlete and overall person.”

After Friends, Erica played lacrosse at Villanova, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Registered Nursing. She then received her master's of science in nursing from Adelphi and her MBA in strategic healthcare management from Hofstra. 

“Balancing Friends’ rigorous education program and sports was always a challenge, but it prepared me well for college,” she said. “And being so dedicated and team-oriented for most of my life made the transition from college to the real world seamless.”

Clockwise from left: Erica Sklar at the 2025 Fall Sports Assembly with her Friends Academy coach, Mrs. Christine Botti, now the Middle School Dean, and Erica celebrating the Quakers' Class C field hockey championship in 2011 — the school's seventh consecutive title. (Archive photos courtesy of Newsday)

Erica began her nursing career at St. Francis in 2016 and was promoted to charge nurse a year later, making her the leader of an entire floor for the duration of 12-hour shifts.

“I felt as if I was captain of the team again,” she said. “I managed deep situations and I was the first person my fellow nurses turned to in times of crisis or concern. We navigated all the twists and turns that came our way together as a unit — just like the teams I had played on in the past.”

The most important lesson sports taught her?

“Being able to work under pressure and remain calm, like you have to be in a big game, allows you to stay clear-minded in times of high stress or emergencies,” she says. “Friends Academy shaped me into the person I am today, and I'm forever thankful for that.”

And her parting advice to current student-athletes at FA? 

Sports are not merely an afterschool activity. They are fertile ground for continuing revelation.

“The competitor that I was at 16-years-old is still inside me. However, now I compete with myself instead of another team,” she said. “If I can be 1% better today than I was yesterday, that to me is a win. There will always be a part of me that's driven by competition, and I welcome it to keep becoming the best version of myself.”

Photos by Alvin Caal / Friends Academy