Sticking To It: Mia Abello Leads on the Field and Beyond

For Mia Abello, field hockey has never been just a sport; it’s been a passport.

The third-year from Houston, Texas first picked up a stick in fifth grade, and what began as a recreational pursuit quickly grew into something much more meaningful.

“Field hockey is a special sport to me,” she says. “It brought me to this university, and it’s helped me become a leader on and off the field.”

That leadership has been tested on the world stage. In high school, Abello began playing with USA Field Hockey, the official pipeline to the Women’s National Team and Olympic games. She has represented the United States in competitions in Barbados, New Zealand, and Canada, and this past December, she captained the U.S. squad at the Junior World Cup in Chile. The team finished sixth — the best result in the program’s history.

Abello has had to learn to balance her responsibilities as an athlete with a commitment to her studies, focusing on connecting directly with professors while she’s traveling and being engaged in class when she’s on Grounds. She was recently accepted to the UVA Batten Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Leadership program, drawn by what she described as a community of driven, change-oriented students and a curriculum that mirrors what she practices on the pitch.

“There’s this overall commitment to excellence within the classroom,” Abello said. “That’s why I joined, to be around students and professors who will make me better, who want to work towards something greater than themselves.”

Abello has an interest in international affairs and how countries work together to solve problems. She’s honing skills she learned on the field in Professor Davis’ leadership class – how to work with people, what makes a good team, and how to find ways to bring a team together toward a shared goal.

Whether as a team captain or a Batten student, for Abello, leadership comes down to the same principle: “Meeting people where they are and embracing the journey with them…being positive, never giving up, and showing that, not just saying it, but leading by example.”

Abello plans to pursue the Olympic track and hopes to compete in the 2028 games in Los Angeles. After graduation, she sees Batten’s lessons shaping whatever comes next, whether that’s consulting, law, or advocating for the continued growth of women’s sports.