‘On a Mission’: Newly elected Rugby Captain Nafanua “Nafi” Fitisemanu ’24-26 on Leadership, Spirituality and Championship Mentality

When the Harvard women’s rugby team — coming off a championship winning season in the fall — began preparing for the upcoming sevens season, it started with captains elections. As each member of the team cast their vote one by one, a consensus was immediately reached: the team wanted junior Nafanua "Nafi" Fitisemanu.

In the 15s season this past fall, the Crimson flew to a 9-0 regular season victory in the NIRA National Fall 15s championship. Fitisemanu was crucial to the Crimson’s success this past season, with her resilience and grit on the field contributing to the team’s championship.

Although Fitisemanu is an academic junior, last fall was her first semester with the current Harvard team. And her path at Harvard has been anything but linear, both athletically and academically.

Fitisemanu matriculated in the fall of 2020, but her freshman season was canceled due to the Covid lockdowns and the Ivy League's decision to cancel all competition.

In a conversation with The Crimson, Fitisemanu looked back and reflected on a very different Harvard. Only freshmen were on campus, dining halls had a limit of four to a table, and all classes were on Zoom.

Fitisemanu recalled it being hard to connect with classmates and teammates alike. Rugby practices looked unrecognizable.

“It was crazy, because we didn’t have an athletic season, and so we would just have practices, but it was literally just four players on campus and you still had to be six feet apart,” Fitisemanu said. “You still had to practice in masks, and so we were running outside six feet apart in masks, and passing this ball.”

Sports at Harvard returned in Fitisemanu’s sophomore year. It marked the first time she stepped foot into the women’s rugby locker room. Now with a gratitude for the fragility of time at the College, she was more motivated than ever to get out on the field and compete.

“I think I just grew so much gratitude for an actual season,” she said.

The women’s rugby program was able to reach the national semifinals in both 15s and 7s that year, with Fitisemanu being named to the All-National Intercollegiate Rugby Association First Team.

After her sophomore year, Fitisemanu made a life-changing decision.

She informed her coaches that she would be stepping away from Harvard for the next two years.

The reason for this untraditional break in college: reaching a point in her spiritual journey that called her to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Fitisemanu said the LDS Church has had a profound impact on her upbringing and how she interacts with the world.

“I think my great grandparents were the first converts to the church,” Fitisemanu said. “I’ve seen so many blessings from the different family values and our family dynamics. And so having that kind of implemented into my other relationships, I find more intentionality, wholesome interactions with other people.”

Having grown up in the church, this break in college was something she had always strongly considered, especially seeing the fulfillment her three older siblings felt after serving their missions.

Women in the church can serve a mission when they turn 19 years old, and Fitisemanu had originally planned to undertake this experience after her first year in college.

“I think when it came to that first year, it was just like, I don’t feel as capable, strong enough in myself in order to share that with everyone else,” Fitisemanu said of her spiritual journey and deciding to serve her mission. “And so I have to work more on my own personal spiritual journey first. And then afterwards, it was like, ‘Okay, I feel strong enough, and I feel like that desire is there.’”

Fitisemanu told Head Coach Mel Denham she was sure of the benefits this time away from rugby and college would provide.

“I was like, ‘I promise you, this will better myself in order for me to serve the team later on,’” Fitisemanu said.

Fitisemanu added that Denham and the team were supportive of her decision to leave the team for an extended period of time, and understanding of other religious values she holds such as not competing in games that are on a Sunday.

“I received a text from Coach Mel, yeah. And she was like, ‘Nafi, thank you so much for telling me. Just so you know, me and the team, we have your back,’” Fitisemanu said. “So the team has been really awesome in supporting me and my religious kind of values.”

Before embarking on her mission, Fitisemanu recalled writing an application to church leaders.

“You’re gonna write down the different languages that you know, different spiritual questions of, ‘Who is God to you? Who is Jesus Christ to you?’” Fitisemanu said. “So you write that all down, and you send your application, and then the leaders of the church receive inspiration from God to then assign you to a place.”

Fitisemanu was assigned to the Spain Madrid North Mission. So with a little high school Spanish, Fitisemanu boarded a plane that would see her spend 18 months across Madrid, the Basque region, and the Canary Islands.

For Fitisemanu, “discipline” is the word that sums up the entire experience. She abided by an “eight-eight-eight” schedule each day: Eight hours dedicated to rest and sleep, eight hours for self-preparation and study, and eight hours for “proselyting.”

She met new companions every six weeks, with whom she was required to spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Since Fitisemanu was only able to contact her family once a week and didn’t consume music, movies, television, books, and most pop culture or media-related activities, she absorbed and dedicated herself to the task at hand.

To fulfill this purpose, daily activities included “walking in the street and talking to a lot of different people, knocking on doors, using social media as well to reach out to those interested.”

She also spent time “studying in scriptures or studying for the different lessons that you would have,” conducting lessons on the gospel and also baptisms.

Fitisemanu said she enjoyed the people she met and her experiences in Spain.

“So many amazing people. And then also sharing what is foundational in your life, and what brings you happiness. And so it’s just a great experience,” she said.

It wasn’t always easy, though.

“I think that was the hardest thing for me,” Fitisemanu said, reflecting on the intensity of the experiences with companions and having to spend every day with someone she previously had not met.

But Fitisemanu said even the challenging moments helped her develop new skills, “especially having hard conversations, bringing up difficulties in the relationship, and trying to see where you guys can be better.”

After 18 months, Fitisemanu returned home to Utah and then, shortly after, to campus. Fitisemanu laughed remembering the “culture shock” of returning to Harvard. An open and bustling campus — free of Covid-19 — coupled with all new classmates and teammates would be challenging for most. Fitisemanu also had to quickly adapt to topical conversations on memes, movies, and celebrities after being away from campus for two years.

She said she took a positive approach to rejoining the team as somewhat of a veteran player, where her original class had now graduated.

“I don’t know these people, but I’m gonna get to know them, I’m gonna see where they need me, and see where I’m gonna help out, where I can serve,” she said. She credited this mindset to her mission, which she described as a “very selfless act.”

She attributed her smooth transition to the team culture — and rugby culture more generally — as a space that is “so accepting, so loving, so welcoming.”

While in Spain, she was only able to spend 30 minutes a day exercising and therefore was not able to play rugby for all 18 months. But fans who watched her play this past season wouldn’t be able to tell she’d had a long absence from the field. She posted 133 total tackles in the fall and was clearly winning the support of her new teammates in the process.

Having felt leadership skills brewing within, two years away and a brand new team did not stop her becoming a respected figure once again after returning to the Crimson.

Of the strengths she gained from her time away from the rugby field, her newfound “ability to see potential and opportunity in everyone” is what stands out for Fitisemanu.

Fitisemanu recalled becoming emotional during her captain's speech and cites her passion as the reason she felt she was nominated as a captain.

“Coming to the captain elections, I was very nervous. I’m not a good public speaker, and so when it comes to these very formal speeches, I get really nervous. And I feel very passionate with rugby, with the girls, with the team. So I sometimes get emotional,” Fitisemanu said.

When it came to the previous captains tallying the votes, Fitisemanu’s name was the first announced.

“I was just like, ‘No way.’ I was so excited,” Fitisemanu said. “I was proud of myself.”

“It’s been one season like, I didn’t know three-fourths of the team, and you see that they have that trust in me was really beautiful to see,” Fitisemanu added.

Now leading the Crimson out for the first time in just a few weeks, Fitisemanu said she’s excited for what is to come. She hopes to recreate that “last season mindset of not falling into complacency,” and to “cultivate more leaders on the team” as the team attempts to win another 7s national championship.

With her senior year on the horizon, Fitisemanu said she is unsure where rugby will fit into her life post-college, but she “definitely wants to still be included in the rugby community.”

Away from the pitch she talks of aspirations of pilot school. Wherever Fitisemanu sets her sights, she said she is sure that both rugby culture as well as the Church and lessons gained from her mission will help her soar.

– Staff Writer Rhiannon Stewart can be reached at rhiannon.stewart@thecrimson.com