Taylor Von Allen joined StreetSquash in 2007 as a 12-year-old student from Thurgood Marshall Academy, a year before the SL Green StreetSquash Center opened in November 2008. She fondly remembers that first year when members of the Academic or Squash teams would pick her up from school and bring her to practice at the Harvard Club.
Although not all the staff members resembled her or shared her background, she embraced the diversity.
“I’d never interacted with anybody Indian before my determined coach, Satya Seshadri,” Taylor Von recalled. “He really poured his heart into us and made us love the game. Memories of him feeding the ball until we successfully and consistently completed the drill and could do it on our own still live vividly in my mind.”
Taylor Von treasures the relationships she built with the staff and their lasting impact.
“I’ll never forget their faces or how they made me feel,” she said.
She also cherishes the strong bond she formed with her teammates.
“One of the things I remember most about StreetSquash is the competitive yet healthy nature of our team,” she shared. “Whenever we had the chance to watch the older teams play or when they volunteered during our squash practices, I think I can speak for most of us when I say we were so inspired.”
That friendly competition drove her to excel.
“During the first couple of years of high school, the rankings would often change because those of us hungry for that top spot kept putting in the work,” Taylor Von said.
She also appreciated the opportunity to meet other squash players through tournaments across the country.
“It was really cool to see other kids from different states and regions,” she said. “For me, it was sort of like that scene from Bring It On when the cheerleaders go to their first competition and see all the other squads. It felt like such a privilege to compete, especially in the big tournaments in Connecticut. Attending those events made me feel like I was doing something right, even if I wasn’t the best player at the time.”
A standout memory was finally defeating a longtime opponent from another program.
“There was this boy I played against multiple times in competitions,” she said. “Though I could take a game or two off him, he always won the match. Losing is tough, but it’s even harder when your teammates are cheering you on and your best effort still isn’t enough. After more training at StreetSquash, I finally beat him—and on our home turf! It was such a rewarding moment.”
Taylor Von moved to Georgia after her sophomore year of high school but stayed connected with her StreetSquash friends, returning to New York to attend their graduations. After high school, she remained in New York to pursue acting at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy.
Following her studies, she worked alongside her brother in TV production and was accepted into the “Made in NY” Production Assistant program in February 2018. The program equipped her with the skills to assist on TV sets across NYC, sparking her passion for editing.
In May 2019, she joined the “Made in NY” Post-Production program, which, along with connections from a previous job, helped her secure freelance roles as an Assistant Editor at companies like A&E Networks.
However, the freelance lifestyle—bouncing from gig to gig—proved challenging. Seeking stability, she joked with her mother that she might join the military if she didn’t find something soon. That joke became reality after consulting her father, an Air Force veteran, and learning about media production opportunities in the Marine Corps.
In 2023, Taylor Von was sworn into the Marine Corps and is now a Combat Videographer stationed in Hawaii.
“Joining the Corps has elevated my technical skills and more,” she said. “In addition to editing, I’ve developed skills in photography, videography, and news writing.”
Looking ahead, she hopes to start her own post-production company after her time in the military. On a personal note, she aspires to become a mom someday.
Taylor Von credits StreetSquash with teaching her to push past her limits.
“I had asthma in middle and high school, and it flared up during intense exercise,” she said. “I remember a fitness assessment where I ran as fast and hard as I could. Afterward, I was completely spent—chest tight, hard breathing, drenched in sweat. My heart rate stayed up for an hour, and I needed an asthma treatment when I got home. But it showed me I was physically and mentally capable, especially when I wanted to prove something.”
StreetSquash also taught her independence.
“During my time there, I realized it was OK to do things without my friends,” she said. “I didn’t have to give in to peer pressure, which I often struggled with in elementary school. I felt stronger when I went my own way, and that’s a trait that has stuck with me.”
View some of Taylor Von’s media work in the military here.
