The Road Back to Rhode Island

Nov. 17

Any athlete knows that teammates share a lot. They share their time in season, out of season with long road trips, practice, pre-game pumping up, team breakfasts and all other forms of team bonding. In my experience I have come to share even more with my teammates. Since the beginning of freshman year my teammates were and remain some of my closest friends. I share my good times and bad times with them. Sometimes I think they know me better than I know myself. I feel privileged to share with them how I’m doing in school, where we should go for spring break, or what to make for dinner. I know when I look back on college I’ll remember our morning trips to Pamela’s Pancakes and the arguments that erupted while the Broncos and the Patriots battled on Monday Night Football.

When my team traveled from NYU to Brandeis a couple of weeks ago, I was able to share with them the place I grew up, something I thought only a few of my closest college friends would ever be able to experience. I am from Rhode Island, which happens to be right in between two of our UAA competitors, and my parents volunteered to have the team over for lunch during our doubleheader weekend.

Last year over spring break I was able to visit my friend, and our keeper Anya, at her home in Los Angeles for a week and this summer I visited one of our midfielders and my sorority sister Bre, in Denver. I loved visiting their homes and experiencing everything they talked about when we were at school. I was able to meet Anya’s best friends Jenelle and Francis and saw the amazing view of the Rockies Bre has from her house. Being able to share my home with not just a few of my teammates but our entire roster was something I was really looking forward to and greatly enjoyed.

In high school I never thought I would attend college at a place like Carnegie Mellon. The criteria for most of my college visits was ivy on the buildings, a Division I soccer team and a liberal arts experience. Carnegie Mellon could not be more different. The physical location of the place is on the outskirts of downtown Pittsburgh, an industrial city with a tough spirit. The buildings are yellow brick; not the Ivy League style I thought I preferred at all.

The school has an attitude that supports any and all skills technical and students here have the reputation of graduating with an ability to easily transfer the skills they learned in college to real life applications. The eclectic nature of our student body and curriculum leaves enough room to explore other students’ majors and I do not mean by taking classes in another department. Student artwork and drama productions on campus, being invited to watch a Penguins game in the Tepper School box, and seeing robots being tested on the quad are what makes Carnegie Mellon such a collaborative and innovative place.

Now that I am here and into my second year, I am glad I chose Carnegie Mellon over my high school vision. With our season now finished and spring fast approaching, I can’t wait to see what my final two years of college have in store for me on the field and off. I’m looking forward to my senior year and returning to Rhode Island to share my home with my teammates, my family away from home.

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