Tatum White leaves lasting off-ice legacy with Team IMPACT

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Tatum White has starred on the ice her entire life. Before committing to Syracuse, she won gold in the 2019 U18 National Championships and competed with Team Canada’s U18 team during its Summer Series. In 2022 as a sophomore at SU, she helped the Orange win the College Hockey America Tournament Championship. Now, as a graduate student, she’s serving as the program’s captain for the third season.

Though, it’s White’s work away from Tennity Ice Pavilion that has made an everlasting impact.

As a junior, she became involved with Team IMPACT, a nonprofit organization that allows student-athletes to connect with children facing serious illness and disability. The organization’s goal is to form long-term, life-changing experiences for all.

Established in 2011, Team IMPACT has active partnerships with 289 children across all 50 states, adding to its total of 3,300 since its establishment. Its match program gives college athletic programs a chance to have young kids, or “matches,” attend events with the team and build connections with the players and coaches.

“It has the support to allow (athletes) to grow in areas outside their athletic talents. When (White) said she was coming back for another year, we were like, ‘This is amazing,’” Alex Givens, Team IMPACT’s associate director of student athlete development, said. “(White) has experience and expertise to help these younger athletes grow into the role.”

White has always been a significant advocate for helping people, as she quickly joined the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee when arriving at SU. During the beginning of White’s junior year, Team IMPACT held a field-day type event for the committee, when athletes could meet potential matches. White attended and fell in love with the organization’s prime objective.

“We just got to meet (the matches) and hang out, and it was a pretty cool event just to have them all there,” White said. “When coach Britni (Smith) came in, she was really interested in the Team IMPACT program as well. Our ultimate goal was to have a match for our team at some point.”

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The process wasn’t always easy for the team, who went through numerous methods to receive a match. Matches must live close to their teams and have the abilities necessary to collaborate with the athletes.

“We’ve got kids who are very sensitive to temperatures, so if they get cold too quickly, we don’t want to put them with hockey. If they get hot too quickly, we don’t want to put them with soccer or softball,” Rebecca Carr, Team IMPACT’s senior case manager, said.

In September, SU ice hockey officially announced the addition of Emelia “Emmy” Phillips to its team. Phillips signed a “National Letter of Intent” and was a vital part of media day festivities. Across the Orange’s 10-year partnership with Team IMPACT, Phillips marked their 13th match.

Phillips, who is 5, was diagnosed with Spina bifida and CASK genetic disorder. Through her few months with the team, she has attended games and practices, participated in team events and built close ties with players, especially White.

“We roll Emmy around in her wheelchair out there, and just to have them involved, it’s super cool,” White said.

After a year of involvement with the organization, White decided to take on the role of a fellow. The position consists of not only being there for the matches of a specific team but for the matches of all Syracuse programs.

She has been pivotal in communicating with Team IMPACT, attending events at hospitals and meeting families to form personal connections. The fellowship is a chance for the student-athletes to take on a leadership position and create stronger relationships with matches.

“It’s all about spreading awareness within the medical and athletic community to get more families involved,” Emma Simches, Team IMPACT’s regional director of programs in the northeast, said. “(We want) to engage them in an experience that they might not be able to get due to the medical journey they’re on.”

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Through her two years as a fellow, White has helped lead Team IMPACT’s many milestones, including its “All-in 5k” and a football event at the JMA Wireless Dome featuring active and graduated matches. At the event, matches were celebrated on the Dome jumbotron, and a media timeout was granted in their honor.

Her role has grown from supporting these events to actively shaping them, demonstrating a sound commitment to the program’s goals. White has consistently shown a dedication that helps foster a supportive and impactful environment.

“It’s really opened up my perspective. I’ve been able to see my impact with the game of hockey and what my accomplishments can do,” White said. “Just being in a different realm, it’s really cool to see how sports can bring people together.”

While with Team IMPACT, White has noticed the immediate effect that student-athletes can provide others. Her outreach and support of those around her have been a valuable example of the work that athletes can complete away from their sport.

In her final season at SU, White’s local contributions will not be forgotten. After White’s graduation, Team IMPACT will continue to stay involved with the Syracuse Athletic Department, hoping to expand even further.

“It’s about giving a child a team so that they’ve got the support, the love, the family that you get when you have a team behind you,” Carr said. “Our purpose is to walk away at the end of the day and say, ‘I helped somebody.’”

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