Off the Bench: Hilke Feldrappe of Columbia women’s basketball

Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents the latest edition of our Off the Bench series that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen.

From Berlin to Columbia, Missouri and now at Columbia and Barnard in the Big Apple, Hilke Feldrappe ’27  considers herself very lucky to have generally found what she was looking for. As her senior year is set in motion, she’s dreaming big about basketball, architecture and sustainability — and whatever will come next.

As a child, Hilke Feldrappe had some big aspirations: living in a major city, playing basketball at the highest level and pursuing an exciting career path.

Now, this Columbia and Barnard senior, who transferred after two years at Missouri, is living out her dreams and taking nothing for granted.

Growing up in Berlin, Feldrappe was accustomed to big-city life — the noise, public transportation and general commotion. Columbia, Missouri, halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City, felt “worlds apart.”

“It was so tiny compared to where I lived before,” Feldrappe said.

Everyday life was different, too. Without a car or public transportation, she had to depend on teammates or others for rides.

Feldrappe loved her teammates at Mizzou, and was floored by the scope and scale of American college athletics. Access to trainers and medical staff, private gyms and weight rooms, film study and the number of people supporting athletes behind the scenes — this was all unheard of in Germany.

Especially, Feldrappe noted, for women’s teams and women athletes.

In Germany, the teams she played on had to practice late at night, when courts were not used by the general public. German athletes are not afforded the luxury of structuring their lives around their sport, or blending athletics and education as seamlessly as she has been able to do here.

“Being able to get a bachelor’s degree and do sports at a really high level was one of my reasons for coming here,” Feldrappe said.

Missouri gave her the chance to experience the SEC, but eventually, she felt she needed a more electric environment.

“I love New York,” she commented. “The energy, the ability to walk out the door and find anything you want. It just felt more like home. And Barnard made it even more so.”

She found a community at Barnard that made the transition smoother, too. “The community and the friendships that I found, I haven’t really experienced that before” in a school setting, she said.

As an Architecture major at Barnard, Feldrappe appreciated taking some classes she might never have chosen on her own. And she has found her Columbia and Barnard peers as engaged as she is in the coursework.

One seminar became particularly meaningful: The Science of Well-Being and Human Potential. Concepts from the class like perspective-taking and gratitude have felt relevant to basketball, and more broadly, to life. The class included an exercise in reflection on what students were grateful for. For Feldrappe, the practice of expressing gratitude has become a way to interrupt cycles of stress and negative thinking.

“It’s so easy to take so many things for granted,” Feldrappe said.

Sometimes, Feldrappe practices gratitude walking around the city, thinking about what is going well. And, she adds, “I feel more energetic.”

Gratitude has become central to the Columbia women’s basketball team’s mindset as well.

Before each practice, the Lions gather in a circle. They have created rituals to make sure they notice and appreciate one another: “Thankful Thursday,” “Spotlight Saturday” and “Sunrise Sunday.”

Sometimes the recognition is basketball-related, sometimes not — an exam someone aced, a kind gesture, an obstacle overcome. It is a small practice with a big impact.

Feldrappe recognizes how fortunate she is.

“I’ve never had that kind of intentionality on a team before,” Feldrappe said. “A family culture where everyone has each other’s back.”

The flip side of all this gratitude, she said, has been a corresponding level of accountability. “It’s very real,” she explained. “When you mess up, you’re going to get told you messed up. But when you’re doing something great, everyone will always be on your side and try to push you to your best.”

Within that environment, Feldrappe described herself as “someone who is never satisfied.”

“My whole life, I’ve been a very solution-oriented perfectionist,” she said.

Feldrappe also sees herself as an optimist.

“There is always the next thing to do,” Feldrappe said. “You cannot freak out in the moment.”

Perfectionism can sometimes get in her way, she acknowledged, but it has also helped her reach her goals:

“The challenge is knowing when to stop focusing on one thing and step back to see the bigger picture,” Feldrappe said.

Feldrappe felt essentially like a freshman when she arrived at Columbia, trying to find a role within a firmly established culture. With such a rich culture and tight-knit program, it took several months to figure out where she fit. Now, Feldrappe is a leader, learning when to push harder, when to step back, and where she can be the calm presence her younger teammates can turn to.

Last year, when the Lions fell short of a berth in the NCAA Tournament after losing to Harvard in the Ivy League Tournament, they had to decide collectively how to respond.

“We all came together and talked for a long time,” Feldrappe recalled. “Everyone was on the same page. The goal was not just playing in the WBIT, but winning it.”

And as Lions fans will remember, they did just that.

Feldrappe is proud of her team’s resilience, and looking forward to seeing where the hard work and commitment will take them this year. The same determination that carried the team through that postseason run has carried into the offseason. They’ve organized player-led workouts, challenging each other to get up more shots. While balancing training with internships and work, Feldrappe said, “you can definitely feel how motivated we are.”

She plans to play professionally for as long as possible, and after that, graduate school in architecture awaits.

This summer, Feldrappe is interning at an architecture studio in Hudson Yards, where she is learning about materials and resources with low-carbon footprints.

“I do want to focus on sustainability,” Feldrappe said. “I think the climate crisis and housing prices — I think affordable housing, that’s also something I’m passionate about, interested in.”

Feldrappe isn’t sure where her commitments to sustainability and affordability might lead her as an architect. She could see herself doing commercial or residential work, and she is keeping an open mind.

It’s the same open mind she uses to pursue a passion for painting and drawing, especially making gifts. Friends and family often ask her to create things for them, including wedding invitations, and creative ventures provide a relaxing alternative to her more academic architectural work.

For the moment, Hilke Feldrappe is, most of all, “just so grateful.”