In Her Wake: Parker Draws Inspiration from Wake Forest Sports Hall of Famer, Dianne Dailey
2/14/2024 7:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
“I'm just always very proud to be a Demon Deacon, and I know that's something that people say, but I definitely feel that and proudly support my team all the time.” - Kate Parker
When Kate Parker took her recruiting visit to Wake Forest, she was searching for warm weather, great academics and an opportunity to play high-level collegiate soccer. As it turned out, the first person in the athletic department she ran into was women's athletic director, Dianne Dailey.
Legendary Wake Forest Women's Golf coach and 2020 inductee into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame, Dailey made a huge impression on Parker. Just a year ago, Dailey and Parker worked together on the 50th Anniversary of Wake Forest Women's Athletics Committee.
"Dianne Dailey was the first person I ever talked to in the Wake Forest athletic department because she was the women's athletic director, before they even hired a coach for the women's soccer team," Parker said. "And so, I was just down there touring, and I had a chance to talk to her. And now we're on the same committee — I felt not worthy to be there. So that was very cool.
"We were asked about our experiences and how we can make this be part of the celebration. We were on these calls with such Dianne Dailey and these women that I had honestly looked up to and had been in absolute awe of — it was an incredible experience."
In addition to serving on that committee, multi-time New York Times Bestselling author Parker has stayed busy producing her next book, as well as a documentary called "Home Field."
"I co-directed and produced my first documentary short," Parker explained. "There was a group of female refugees who had come to Atlanta to live and got acclimated to the country through soccer. It was called Home Field, and it came out for that 50th celebration of Title IX.
"It was my first documentary, and I was super passionate about it. I was trying to get it made for a really long time, and I learned so much in the process and it was difficult. The movie was at the Tribeca Film Festival, so it was a really cool experience and made me realize that I really do enjoy that part of it — the storytelling."
Previous work by Parker such as "Strong is the New Pretty" and "Play Like a Girl" focused heavily on photography to tell the story, so this was somewhat of a new, exciting process.
"One of the things that I thought was super interesting is when I had shot those girls, I felt like I didn't do it justice just with a couple images in a book," Parker said. "So, it was nice to be able to come back and further and fully tell the story in a greater way with a little bit more impact. So that was really, I don't know, I really enjoyed that part of it."
"It feels not too dissimilar to making a book and shooting that way, but it's trying to, yeah. I have to expand what I'm thinking because my brain thinks in terms of stills and frame by frame and thinking in terms of telling a whole story and how things flow and what's the transition and including audio. And I feel like it was exhausting in a good way."
She also had a new book hitting in March, "Force of Nature: A Celebration of Girls and Women Raising Their Voices."
"Just in Time for Women's History Month, it's a celebration of girls and women using their voices," Parker said. "So, it's basically a book within the "Strong is the New Pretty" series, and it's the same sort of structure. It's just celebrating the moment when you speak up or speak out and find your voice and use your voice for good."
"I basically feel like it's the same audience as my previous book, but it's just a little bit more in depth and more focused on finding and using your voice."
In between all these projects, Parker trained for the Chicago Marathon, has worked on the potential of a couple of her books becoming a TV show, and spent a lot of time with family — including a third precious addition of the canine persuasion.
"It was my daughter's senior year this year," Parker said about home life. "I really didn't want to miss any of it. And so, I was trying to pull back just a little bit, if I could."
That didn't prevent her from staying in tune with Wake Forest Athletics.
"I watched every single game that our baseball team was in Omaha, and I absolutely loved it," Parker said. "I was so excited, and I was on a rollercoaster ride with them. I'm always a fan of Wake Forest.
"I feel like I just continue to be very proud to be an alumnus from there. And I don't know, I'm just always very proud to be a Demon Deacon, and I know that's something that people say, but I definitely feel that and proudly support my team all the time."
Legendary Wake Forest Women's Golf coach and 2020 inductee into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame, Dailey made a huge impression on Parker. Just a year ago, Dailey and Parker worked together on the 50th Anniversary of Wake Forest Women's Athletics Committee.
"Dianne Dailey was the first person I ever talked to in the Wake Forest athletic department because she was the women's athletic director, before they even hired a coach for the women's soccer team," Parker said. "And so, I was just down there touring, and I had a chance to talk to her. And now we're on the same committee — I felt not worthy to be there. So that was very cool.
"We were asked about our experiences and how we can make this be part of the celebration. We were on these calls with such Dianne Dailey and these women that I had honestly looked up to and had been in absolute awe of — it was an incredible experience."
In addition to serving on that committee, multi-time New York Times Bestselling author Parker has stayed busy producing her next book, as well as a documentary called "Home Field."
"I co-directed and produced my first documentary short," Parker explained. "There was a group of female refugees who had come to Atlanta to live and got acclimated to the country through soccer. It was called Home Field, and it came out for that 50th celebration of Title IX.
"It was my first documentary, and I was super passionate about it. I was trying to get it made for a really long time, and I learned so much in the process and it was difficult. The movie was at the Tribeca Film Festival, so it was a really cool experience and made me realize that I really do enjoy that part of it — the storytelling."
Previous work by Parker such as "Strong is the New Pretty" and "Play Like a Girl" focused heavily on photography to tell the story, so this was somewhat of a new, exciting process.
"One of the things that I thought was super interesting is when I had shot those girls, I felt like I didn't do it justice just with a couple images in a book," Parker said. "So, it was nice to be able to come back and further and fully tell the story in a greater way with a little bit more impact. So that was really, I don't know, I really enjoyed that part of it."
"It feels not too dissimilar to making a book and shooting that way, but it's trying to, yeah. I have to expand what I'm thinking because my brain thinks in terms of stills and frame by frame and thinking in terms of telling a whole story and how things flow and what's the transition and including audio. And I feel like it was exhausting in a good way."
She also had a new book hitting in March, "Force of Nature: A Celebration of Girls and Women Raising Their Voices."
"Just in Time for Women's History Month, it's a celebration of girls and women using their voices," Parker said. "So, it's basically a book within the "Strong is the New Pretty" series, and it's the same sort of structure. It's just celebrating the moment when you speak up or speak out and find your voice and use your voice for good."
"I basically feel like it's the same audience as my previous book, but it's just a little bit more in depth and more focused on finding and using your voice."
In between all these projects, Parker trained for the Chicago Marathon, has worked on the potential of a couple of her books becoming a TV show, and spent a lot of time with family — including a third precious addition of the canine persuasion.
"It was my daughter's senior year this year," Parker said about home life. "I really didn't want to miss any of it. And so, I was trying to pull back just a little bit, if I could."
That didn't prevent her from staying in tune with Wake Forest Athletics.
"I watched every single game that our baseball team was in Omaha, and I absolutely loved it," Parker said. "I was so excited, and I was on a rollercoaster ride with them. I'm always a fan of Wake Forest.
"I feel like I just continue to be very proud to be an alumnus from there. And I don't know, I'm just always very proud to be a Demon Deacon, and I know that's something that people say, but I definitely feel that and proudly support my team all the time."
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