Early Life

MASSAPEQUA PARK, NEW YORK

     I grew up in Massapequa Park on Long Island. Playing soccer from a young age is what every young kid did. And if it wasn't soccer, it was lacrosse. I started playing when I was about five or six. My dad was working for FDNY and also coaching soccer on the side. He is the one who got me involved and I cannot thank him enough for it.

     When it comes to high school, I did not play. I only played my freshman and sophomore year. I come from a very political town where if the coach doesn't know you, he will cut you from the team. Once it came to 10th-12th grade, politics got in the way. I decided to take a step back, focus on choir, and my travel team.

     As for my travel team, Farmingdale/ Brentwood Freedom, was the team to beat. Before I came to that team, I played for my towns travel team but ended up having to leave because the team was coming to an end. I either needed to try out for my towns "elite" team or go find another team. I moved to Freedom because Shannon told me that it was a great team that would always be winning, make amazing friends and go far in tournaments and trust me, we did. We were always ranked in the top ten of New York. I met some of my best friends to this day from being involved with that team.

College Life

NEW HAVEN UNIVERSITY

     When it comes to playing soccer in college, I knew it wasn't in my plan. I was good enough to play but I think it was time for me to focus on other aspects of my life. The feeling of missing the game came and went. There were times during the Freedom group chat that we have where I felt like I was out of place because everyone was talking about if they won that week or how many goals someone scored.

     My major however, forensic science, calls for a lot of attention and I feel like I wouldn't have been able to give 110% of my attention to either school or soccer and that isn't fair to me or my hypothetical team. 

     Deciding to go to New Haven was an easy choice in and of itself. It has the perfect balance of school and social life for me. It is also closer to home so going home for a weekend isn't a hard thing to do. New Haven allows for a city feel while being secluded on a college campus. I also picked New Haven for the simple fact that they had a great forensic science program and curriculum to back it up.

Future Life

DNA ANALYST

     I never felt like I missed out not playing soccer in college. I was still able to make friends and be involved with such a great group of people. However, still being involved in the school taught me how to manage my time and to be responsible for myself.

     As for my future plans, I would love to be able to be a DNA analyst. Right now, my plan is to take an entry level position at a biotech company or research laboratory. This allows me to receive the one to two years experience that I need to get into a crime lab as the analyst. As for where I want to be, I would enjoy staying in Connecticut. Home is a little to hectic for me with my younger sisters still being in high school and my older sister still in college. Another major goal is to eventually go back to school and receive my masters, I would not want to do this though until the company I am working for will pay for it.