1) What made you come to Lebanon Valley College?  Where did you come from and how did you hear about our institution?

I come from the wonderful city of Sunbury, Pennsylvania and graduated from Shikellamy high school.  My uncle Rory played football for LVC and my mom really enjoyed the campus when the family came to watch his games, so she encouraged me to at least take a look at the school.  LVC had everything I wanted in a school: small class sizes, a strong biology program, and division III track; however, I didn’t really fall in love with LVC until I was on my tour.  I had a wonderful tour guide and I just got a good feeling from the school.    

2) What is your major and why did you choose it?

My major is biology and I chose it because I had a few amazing biology teachers in high school who really sparked my interest in the subject.  It’s such a diverse and fascinating field that I knew I would stay interested.  Also, I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do as far as a career, but I knew bio would give me a lot of different options and directions that I could go in after graduation and still be very likely to find a job. 

3) What do you plan on doing upon graduation with your degree?

I plan on attending graduate school to become a nurse practitioner; I'm hoping to specialize in acute-care pediatrics.    

4) What is your favorite part about being a member of the LVC cross country program?

 I really love the atmosphere of the entire program.  There is so much support and team spirit within these two teams it’s fantastic.  I’ve never been a part of a program where the athletes are so friendly and helpful towards one another.  I have made some of my closest friends through this program and I doubt that my college experience would have been nearly as enjoyable without cross country.  There is a wonderful partnership between the coaches and athletes that really makes this program a success and an enjoyable experience for all.

5) What is your favorite type of workout?  Is there any one particular workout that you can remember that was challenging but made you a better runner for it?

I really enjoy shorter, faster track workouts.  I'll admit I'm not an overly strong cross country athlete so I feel much more comfortable doing track work than longer runs.  But if I had to choose a workout more cross country oriented then I would probably say hill repeats are my favorite.  I would say the 6-4-2-2 workout from this past season was a rather tough one, especially while trying to keep up with Cynthia.

6) What are your short term and long term running-related goals, both team and individual?

Well, let’s start with team goals.  Short term I would really love the team to be ranked regionally again this season and have another top-two finish at MACs.  I think a good goal for the team in the long term would be to eventually win MACs and place high enough at regionals to make it to nationals as a team.  I think we have a very talented group of young runners who can easily make this goal a reality.  Individually in the short term I would just like to be a top five finisher for the team and help score some points.  As for the long term I would really like to provisionally qualify for nationals for track and maybe one day (in the very long term) run a marathon.

7) What hobbies, sports or other leisure time activities do you enjoy most?

I really enjoy playing soccer on the occasion I still get the chance to.  Watching football is one of my favorite Sunday afternoon activities as well.  I used to play the piano quite a bit when I was younger and would really love to pick that back up again once I have a little more time in my schedule.

8) What is your favorite type of food?

 This is a tough one I love food so much, but if I had to choose I would say either sushi or Italian would be my favorite type.  They are both delicious, but in completely different ways.

9)  What makes you unique?  Do you have any special talents or something else that you'd like to share that others would find interesting?

Well, standing at an impressive 4'10" and 3/4 I'm a mere 3/4 of an inch above being a legal midget.  Another fun fact is that I'm half blind.  So if you're ever in need of a half blind almost-midget, I'm your girl.    

10)  Why should a high school junior or senior take a more serious look at LVC?