This is the 10th article in Players of Pride Hall, a subsection of Bears Doing Big Things, celebrating the stories of notable M-A alumni in the Hall of Fame.
“Water polo has taught me immense discipline and perseverance, which especially applies to my work as a nurse today,” Becca Dorst ’10 said. Dorst was a four-year varsity water polo star at M-A, later coached the sport at Princeton University, and now works as an ER nurse.
Growing up, Dorst was always surrounded by water polo and athletics. “My dad was a water polo player at M-A who’s also in the Hall of Fame and played in the Olympics, so the sport was always a huge part of my childhood,” she said. “I spent practically every summer at the pool swimming club teams and practicing water polo.”
At M-A, Dorst played varsity water polo all four years, coached by Chris Rubin, and was also on the swim team. “Coach Rubin was the best coach to learn from and go through M-A water polo with,” she said. “He pushed us to our limits, but also made sure we bonded as a team and supported each other.”
“I absolutely loved my years at M-A. I always felt the strong community, and I really had a sense of belonging there,” Dorst added.
Dorst was inducted into M-A’s Athletic Hall of Fame this past October for her achievements in girls water polo. “I was inducted with my sister Emily which was such a full circle moment for us both,” she said. “We both loved playing at M-A, and it’s so cool we are both in the Hall of Fame with my dad now.”
After graduating from M-A, Dorst went on to attend UCLA where she continued playing water polo and earned an All-American title. “Everything was just a little more intense playing at UCLA,” she said. “Everyone was bigger, stronger, and unlike high school where we all played many different roles, we were each assigned a specific position and trained exactly for it.”
Following college, Dorst moved to Australia for a year where she played water polo professionally. “I had lived on the West Coast for my whole life, so I felt like it was time to switch it up,” she said. “I got the opportunity to play professionally and just couldn’t say no, I mean, it’s Australia.”
Dorst also coached water polo at Princeton University, where she served as the assistant women’s coach for two years and stepped in as interim head coach for one year. “The head coach at Princeton reached out to me before I left for Australia, and they ended up holding the position for me until I came back,” she said. “I was really interested in coaching because it felt like I was giving back to the community that shaped me, and I loved helping people.”
While coaching at Princeton, Dorst took prerequisite courses at a New Jersey community college for her nursing degree. After three years at Princeton, Dorst switched to a full-time nursing degree, pursuing an accelerated program at Concordia University.
She started working as a night shift ICU nurse at Mission Hospital in Orange County. “Working the night shift was definitely slower paced than day shift, and I felt like I got to bond with patients more, but as I was always a morning person, night shift was definitely challenging at first,” Dorst said.
Dorst now works as a day-time ER nurse at Mission Hospital in Orange County. “The daytime shift is more fast-paced, and it’s always a grind, but it’s very rewarding,” she said. “I love nursing because I love helping people and being a positive influence in anyone’s life.”
Dorst’s advice to current student-athletes: “Enjoy the hard work. I know it’s easy to think the end goal is always a championship, but coming from someone who lost her senior NCAA title to her younger sister’s team, the people, the dedication and respect for the process are where you’ll find your true joy.”
