MORAGA, Calif. – Although collegiate athletics are officially over until the fall, the Gaels are still finding ways to make headlines and do Saint Mary's proud. This is the case for junior runner Molly Dreher, who will be recognized at the upcoming ESPYS as an honorable mention honoree for the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award.
 
The award celebrates and honors young people who are using the power of sport as a catalyst for change and making a positive impact on society.
 
"It's pretty exciting. Advocacy work can be tough because you all to be self-motivated and it's on your own dime, but to be recognized and to see myself amongst a bunch of amazing people is pretty motivating," Dreher said. "It's cool to think that I might be an inspiration in some capacity as well."
 
Dreher is set to be honored at the ESPYS on July 12 along with 10 other honorable mentions. The three winners of the award will be featured at the awards show. Hearing all the incredible work the other award winners have done has inspired Dreher to strive for more. "It's encouraging because I look around and know I'm not the only one pushing for something I believe in."
 
The STEM major has been out of her comfort zone recently, as the program she'll follow has her connecting with people in the industry and fostering her communications skills. She's looking forward to exploring a new field, with hopes that it can help create a new opportunity for her in the future.
 
"We live in a forever changing job market, and being able to dip my toes in a field and area I don't have a ton of experience in is super unique, and maybe it'll allow me to create my own path and job within the field someday."
 
The Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award has only been around since 2016, but since then has produced stellar young people that go on to do great work in their respective communities. Dreher applied for the award last year and won some money which she put towards the company she works for, VOICEINSPORT. It provides a community-based platform for digital services in mental health, nutrition, sport science, and mentoring from pro-athletes to keep girls and women in sport. She has worked with VOICEINSPORT for over a year as part of the VIS Advocate Program, which began in 2021.
 
The journey that led Dreher to VOICEINSPORT came through Title IX work at Saint Mary's, where she wanted to get more hands-on experience. Dreher has done some incredible things since joining VOICEINSPORT, including her work on the Fair Play for Women Act of 2022, which is aimed at strengthening three key areas of Title IX in which VIS Advocates have been leading: education, reporting & transparency, and enforcement. While others contributed to the legislation, Dreher played a crucial role in creating the material that comprises the bill.
 
Last year, Dreher traveled to Washington and Capitol Hill to give a speech on Title IX and how it can be strengthened. Her first trip to DC opened her eyes to the impact athletes can have on effecting positive change, which is why Dreher will be heading back to Capitol Hill on July 11 to talk with senators and local schools about Title IX training.  
"We'll give a training to high schoolers and college kids in the DC area that can get there," explained Dreher. "It's also honestly a training for the legislative members because, you know, there's a lot of laws, which means there's a lot of words to remember, and they don't really understand how much Title Nine doesn't work. So, they're always like very surprised when we tell them the facts. It's educating them as well, which is an interesting position to be in as a young person, because these are the people you vote for. They're the professionals, but then it's on you to be the teacher."
 
The future looks bright for Dreher, who intends to go to medical school following her final year at Saint Mary's, all while still doing work with Title IX and VOICEINSPORT. "I don't really know how to function in the real world yet so we're just going stay in school for a little bit longer! I want to stick with my ambition but also give myself some time to breath. What's next is just figuring out what path I want to take and something that's truly me."
 
Throughout Dreher's time at Saint Mary's, she's had a great support system that has encouraged her to strive for more, whether that's on trails at the WCC Championships or on the steps of Washington.
 
"In the past when I've brought up ideas to my coaches or teammates, I'm never met with backlash, I've always met with 'What can we do? What's the next step like?'" Dreher mentioned about Saint Mary's. "I think a having an environment that respects your voice and sets you up to use it and like enact change is important. You have a lot of universities that have 30,000 kids, they don't care what you think they don't have. You're one of the numbers and they don't have time for that. It takes a lot more to get stuff moving.
 
"It's nice to be a big fish in a small pond because you can make waves faster. And I think that sort of like it's not instant gratification, but that instant response encourages you to push more and so and the more you push the more you get so I think it's kind of a nice pressure cooker for success."  
Dreher's head coach Marty Kinsey had this to say about her accomplishments:
 
"Molly continues to impress each year she is here at Saint Mary's. She takes full advantage of the support and resources and utilizes them to benefit her education. She embraces the core values of the college and is helping make the world a better place. She's a true leader and I'm excited to see how far she goes well past her collegiate days here at Saint Mary's."
 
Dreher unfortunately won't be able to make the ESPYS because she'll be back on Capitol Hill, but she still hopes she gets to see herself on TV. "They're going to honor the three main winners with a trophy and then they'll put our bio and our faces up there. They asked for a bunch of photos and they don't have a ton so hopefully it looks good!"
 
Dreher's list of accomplishments keep growing, and as she continues to explore new topics and push for equality, she'll continue to inspire young runners and young leaders alike.