As my four years come to an end it is time to sit back and reflect on my time as a student-athlete. I am in disbelief that in the next few weeks my time is up, and I’m not quite ready to let it go. Being a Charger has been one of the hardest, and most rewarding experiences I have ever been a part of.

Freshman year I was nervous, I wasn’t sure what I was walking into. I didn’t know if I would find my way, what my role would be on the team, or how I would handle being so far away from home. These worries quickly washed away. Being on a team is like having built-in friends, they become your family, your support system. I don’t know if I could have been successful this far away from home without them. It isn’t always easy being surrounded by twenty-five girls, but the good times and memories definitely outweigh any of the lows we’ve faced, and there is no one else I would rather face each day with.

I have been surrounded by people who challenge me each day. I expect a lot out of myself and my coaches have held me to that same standard. Coming in I never expected to come close to touching our strength records and it quickly became my goal of mine to break all four. I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish goals like this without the support of my coaches and teammates.  Each day at practice we challenge each other to get a little better each day, and our competitive nature pushes us to excel in the classroom as well. I think the most beneficial part of being a student-athlete is failing. It happens more often than we would like, and it is difficult to face, but it teaches us how to deal with adversity head-on.

My time at New Haven has treated me well. I owe that to all the amazing coaches, teammates, and professors I’ve had along the way. When you are surrounded by people who want to see you succeed as bad as you do it’s hard to fall short of your goals. I am forever grateful that I took a chance and left my comfort zone, it has prepared me for life in ways I never could have imagined.