Make Mansfield Yours Homepage

Make Mansfield Yours is a weekly feature on GoMounties.com that highlights a current Mansfield University student-athlete or alumni on why they chose Mansfield and what makes the university special to them. The feature aligns with NCAA Division II's brand of Make It Yours that allows student-athletes to shape their athletic and academic experience to be exactly what they want it to be.

Heather Long
Class of 2005
Criminal Justice Administration
Softball, Field Hockey

Why did you choose Mansfield University?
Originally I wanted to attend Kutztown University, but my decision quickly changed after my recruiting trips. The relationship between the players and coaching staff at Mansfield far surpassed the relationships at KU. Mansfield University was the only Division II school to allow me to play two sports, field hockey and softball.

Within my first year at Mansfield, I knew that I made the right choice!

What makes Mansfield University special to you?
I always tell people that Mansfield is the best place on Earth!!

Mansfield is special to me because everyone at the university cares about what is best for you. They treat you like family. The staff at Mansfield University supported me throughout my college years and still support me today. Mansfield University shaped me into the successful person I am today.

If you did not attend Mansfield University, you will never understand the bond us student-athletes have with the university. It is truly something special that really cannot be explained.

How did your experiences at Mansfield University benefit your career/personal life following graduation?
After graduating from Mansfield University, I returned one year later to attend the Municipal Police Officer's Academy in the summer/fall of 2006. The small class sizes between college and the academy allowed me to have additional specialized training my colleagues today did not receive. Even though I had to leave Mansfield to continue my career with the Pottstown Police Department, I know without the support of my friends, professors and coaches at Mansfield, I would not be where I am today. I am so grateful for the support and love I feel from everyone at Mansfield, then and now.

Favorite memory at Mansfield
There are so many great memories from my time at Mansfield between the bus rides, games and homecomings ... but one of my favorite memories would have to be in the spring of 2001. We had an away doubleheader at Bloomsburg University. After a hard fought seven innings, a fellow freshman of mine came into the game for a save situation. The game ended with us winning 2-1. In the dugout was a former softball player, Kelly Morris Shannon, who was crying. We had never beat Bloom before that day and it was a win for the current players as well as all former players that wore the MU jersey.

I experienced something similar to Kelly years later when I was on the sidelines when Mansfield field hockey clinched their first PSAC playoff berth. I was so proud and felt honored to get to be a part of that experience with those players.

Advice you would give to a current Mansfield student-athlete
Cherish every moment you have at Mansfield with your teammates, they are like nothing you will ever experience again. The name on the front of your jersey is greater than the name on the back. You are part of a something bigger than yourself, play for your teammates. Every time you step on that field remember those that came before you and those that will come after you. You are our legacy and we would be nothing without each other!

Once a Mountie, Always a Mountie!! <>


If you are a current or former Mansfield University student-athlete and would like to be featured on Make Mansfield Yours, please fill out the submission form