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Princeton University Athletics
Vanessa Smith '17
Being Involved: Vanessa Smith '17
February 25, 2026 | Women's Basketball
By Warren Croxton
Being involved is something Vanessa Smith always strides for.
The former Tiger graduated in 2017 as the Princeton women's basketball team's all-time leader in games played (121) and recorded nearly 900 career points.
There was no slow-playing her into a role at Princeton. Smith played in every game as a freshman, averaging over 13 minutes per game and contributing 5.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest.
"You have to understand that you are part of a larger, intricate system where every move you that you make, every foot on the court, impacts your teammates," said Smith about the differences between high school and college. "It's more than just knowing your plays. It's reading the defense, it's knowing how your teammates play defense, and being two, three steps ahead."
Smith played even more off the bench during the magical 2014-15 season that saw the Tigers go 30-0 in the regular season and nab the program's first ever NCAA Tournament victory.
The former Tiger moved into the starting lineup as a junior and helped the Orange and Black to a 12-2 mark in the Ivy League. The Tigers lost twice to Penn but became the first Ivy League team to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"We had hoped for an at-large bid, but we knew it was unprecedented," said Smith about heading into Selection Sunday. "I hope people deleted the video, but I remember screaming like a child when our name came across the screen. It just affirmed all the work that we had put in."
Princeton lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and followed that up with a WNIT berth in her senior campaign, marking four straight postseasons for Smith and the Tigers.
"I would like to think what was instilled in me was that the culture of Princeton Basketball was to show up and be the best version of yourself," said Smith about her four years at Princeton. "What I have taken away from Princeton women's basketball is that you're not just playing for the legacy and records, but you're truly playing for the 15 other jerseys next to you on every play."
Smith wasn't quite ready for the normal 9-5 job out of college when she was finished at Princeton. She wanted to travel, experience some culture and carve out her own path in what she wanted to do in her life.
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 The Twinsburg, Ohio native applied to Princeton in Latin America Studies (PiLA) program and PhD programs during her senior year.
She got into the PiLA and the PhD program at Harvard. It was an easy choice for Smith who had a concentration in Latin America Studies and went 8-1 against the Crimson during her career.
It wasn't Harvard.
Smith worked for two years in the Dominican Republic for the Mariposa Foundation where she did administration and fundraising mostly. When she was finished there, she came back to the United States and was project manager at the National September 11th Memorial and Museum.
Her interest in art and museums was really sparked by her Olmec Art class at the Princeton Art Museum during her sophomore year. Â
"It was a very good way to step into the heart of New York," said Smith about her time with the 9/11 Memorial/Museum. "It gives you an appreciation for the history of that day and the wound that event created but also shows how the city and country came together afterwards."
While working at the 9/11 Museum, Smith got a master's degree in museum studies at NYU where she was doing work for one of her professors, Dr. Jane Anderson, with indigenous rights and cultural property. With Dr. Anderson along with her Princeton mentor Victoria Bjorklund, Smith applied to law school at UCLA where she is now.
Before starting at law school, Smith had the opportunity to work at Cooley LLP where many of her counterparts mentioned that she should get into the AI world because its future impact on every industry.
"I told myself, quite ambitiously, that I wanted to start a company," said Smith. "It was not in the hopes of creating some kind of unicorn company, but as an extracurricular."
So that's what she did.
Smith got together with two other law students and an MBA student and hired a few engineers to build out an AI product that helps law students and attorneys be able to summarizes cases more efficiently. She was the COO for Luri, the company that built out the product before stepping away in May of 2025.
Currently, Smith is involved in everything as she balances her career and intellectual interests. As a law student, she provides advising to other graduate students for startup competitions at UCLA, sits on a few nonprofit advisory boards, takes in as much of the art scene in Los Angeles as she can, All of this while trying to finish her JD/MBA program.
When she finishes her law degree in 2027, she will work at Cooley LLP as a corporate attorney.Â
How does she keep up with all this work?
Well, Princeton has helped.
"Nothing has been harder than being a full time Division-I athlete at Princeton until I got to law school," said Smith with a smile. "When I take a step back and I look at all the things that I'm juggling, I'm like, I've done this before, and I've done it at the highest level. I always try to humble myself too because I've got former teammates that are doing brain surgery, so I can go to class, take notes then go sit on a board for a non-profit for two hours."
An Ivy Champion, NCAA winner, future lawyer, businesswoman.
Being involved is what Vanessa Smith is all about.
Being involved is something Vanessa Smith always strides for.
The former Tiger graduated in 2017 as the Princeton women's basketball team's all-time leader in games played (121) and recorded nearly 900 career points.
There was no slow-playing her into a role at Princeton. Smith played in every game as a freshman, averaging over 13 minutes per game and contributing 5.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest.
"You have to understand that you are part of a larger, intricate system where every move you that you make, every foot on the court, impacts your teammates," said Smith about the differences between high school and college. "It's more than just knowing your plays. It's reading the defense, it's knowing how your teammates play defense, and being two, three steps ahead."
Smith played even more off the bench during the magical 2014-15 season that saw the Tigers go 30-0 in the regular season and nab the program's first ever NCAA Tournament victory.
The former Tiger moved into the starting lineup as a junior and helped the Orange and Black to a 12-2 mark in the Ivy League. The Tigers lost twice to Penn but became the first Ivy League team to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"We had hoped for an at-large bid, but we knew it was unprecedented," said Smith about heading into Selection Sunday. "I hope people deleted the video, but I remember screaming like a child when our name came across the screen. It just affirmed all the work that we had put in."
Princeton lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and followed that up with a WNIT berth in her senior campaign, marking four straight postseasons for Smith and the Tigers.
"I would like to think what was instilled in me was that the culture of Princeton Basketball was to show up and be the best version of yourself," said Smith about her four years at Princeton. "What I have taken away from Princeton women's basketball is that you're not just playing for the legacy and records, but you're truly playing for the 15 other jerseys next to you on every play."
Smith wasn't quite ready for the normal 9-5 job out of college when she was finished at Princeton. She wanted to travel, experience some culture and carve out her own path in what she wanted to do in her life.
Â
 The Twinsburg, Ohio native applied to Princeton in Latin America Studies (PiLA) program and PhD programs during her senior year.
She got into the PiLA and the PhD program at Harvard. It was an easy choice for Smith who had a concentration in Latin America Studies and went 8-1 against the Crimson during her career.
It wasn't Harvard.
Smith worked for two years in the Dominican Republic for the Mariposa Foundation where she did administration and fundraising mostly. When she was finished there, she came back to the United States and was project manager at the National September 11th Memorial and Museum.
Her interest in art and museums was really sparked by her Olmec Art class at the Princeton Art Museum during her sophomore year. Â
"It was a very good way to step into the heart of New York," said Smith about her time with the 9/11 Memorial/Museum. "It gives you an appreciation for the history of that day and the wound that event created but also shows how the city and country came together afterwards."
While working at the 9/11 Museum, Smith got a master's degree in museum studies at NYU where she was doing work for one of her professors, Dr. Jane Anderson, with indigenous rights and cultural property. With Dr. Anderson along with her Princeton mentor Victoria Bjorklund, Smith applied to law school at UCLA where she is now.
Before starting at law school, Smith had the opportunity to work at Cooley LLP where many of her counterparts mentioned that she should get into the AI world because its future impact on every industry.
"I told myself, quite ambitiously, that I wanted to start a company," said Smith. "It was not in the hopes of creating some kind of unicorn company, but as an extracurricular."
So that's what she did.
Smith got together with two other law students and an MBA student and hired a few engineers to build out an AI product that helps law students and attorneys be able to summarizes cases more efficiently. She was the COO for Luri, the company that built out the product before stepping away in May of 2025.
Currently, Smith is involved in everything as she balances her career and intellectual interests. As a law student, she provides advising to other graduate students for startup competitions at UCLA, sits on a few nonprofit advisory boards, takes in as much of the art scene in Los Angeles as she can, All of this while trying to finish her JD/MBA program.
When she finishes her law degree in 2027, she will work at Cooley LLP as a corporate attorney.Â
How does she keep up with all this work?
Well, Princeton has helped.
"Nothing has been harder than being a full time Division-I athlete at Princeton until I got to law school," said Smith with a smile. "When I take a step back and I look at all the things that I'm juggling, I'm like, I've done this before, and I've done it at the highest level. I always try to humble myself too because I've got former teammates that are doing brain surgery, so I can go to class, take notes then go sit on a board for a non-profit for two hours."
An Ivy Champion, NCAA winner, future lawyer, businesswoman.
Being involved is what Vanessa Smith is all about.
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