Class of 2026 Student Spotlight: Francesca “Frankie” Loiseau
2026 NCAA Inspiration Award Recipient
Women’s Tennis Team
Degree:
Hometown:
Lumberton, N.J.
What brought you to Marymount?
I played tennis in high school and knew I wanted to be in a business program. I really like numbers and realized I could make a career out of that, so I found accounting and ended up loving it.
I was originally looking at Mount St. Mary’s, but my friend’s grandmother kept mistakenly saying “Marymount” instead. She said it so many times, I thought I should at least look at the school. When I finally looked up Marymount, I just fell in love with it. I came to campus and loved it, and having the opportunity to play tennis and be near D.C. really sold it for me. I knew right away this was where I wanted to go, and I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else.
What has your Marymount experience been like?
My experience has been amazing, both personally and academically. Marymount is truly a community at every level. The smaller school environment really allows you to have one-on-one relationships with professors. I can talk to them not just about school but about life, jobs and the future.
Being a student-athlete was also a positive experience for me. As a freshman, you come in knowing nobody—but being on a team helps you make friends right away. It makes the transition so much easier. I’ve met so many lifelong friends among my teammates and fellow student-athletes. Being on a team helped me get more involved. It gave me something to do instead of just going to class or staying in my dorm room. It helped me build relationships and skills that I’ll have for the rest of my life.
You had a medical emergency in 2022 that put your personal and academic aspirations on hold. How did that experience impact you?
During a team training session, I collapsed due to a spontaneous brain bleed caused by an arteriovenous malformation rupture. The incident required emergency brain surgery, and I lost movement on the left side of my body. I spent months in physical therapy to regain mobility. It was a sudden and frightening experience, but I had a lot of support from the Marymount community. The athletic department was always checking on me when I was in the hospital and when I was recovering at home. It made me feel like I mattered, and like I wasn’t just a statistic.
Coming back was scary. I had been out of school for so long, and I didn’t know how I’d manage. But Student Access Services and my professors helped so much. Just knowing people genuinely wanted to support me made me feel like I could do it, that I wasn’t by myself.
That experience taught me a lot about myself and changed my perspective on life. It showed me that I’m a lot stronger than I thought I was. Now I feel like I can do hard things. Even if something scares me, I’ll try. Before, it might have been, “I can’t do it.” Now it’s, “I can try.” It’s taught me to push past fear and believe in myself.
What was the highlight of your time at Marymount?
The biggest highlight for me was winning the 2026 NCAA Inspiration Award. After having a really difficult experience, it helped me realize how much I’d grown. I am humbled to think that my story could be an inspiration to others. It also meant so much to have my Marymount Athletics family members with me during the ceremony. The award isn’t just mine—it belongs to everyone who stood by me and believed in me.
What is your advice for incoming Marymount students about making the most of their college experience?
Join something—sports, clubs, anything. That’s how you meet people, and it helps so much when you’re coming into a new place. Also, take risks. Do things you might fail at. That’s how you learn. It doesn’t have to be something big, even just trying a class you’re unsure about. Just take opportunities to better yourself and try new experiences.
