What is your background? Hometown? High school? Family members?: I was born in Silvis Illinois and have lived in Illinois my whole life. I graduated from Alleman Catholic High School. While there I played four years of tennis and four years of varsity softball. I have four siblings so as you can see my parents are very busy people trying to keep up with all of our schedules. I have two older sisters, one who is actually engaged so were all excited about the wedding. One little sister and a baby brother. Being away from them all kills me every day so whenever I’m with them I always take advantage of that time.
What brought you to Kirkwood and why?: Playing softball is what brought me into Kirkwood. Obviously getting an education was also a reason! I decided on Kirkwood in hopes of going to the next level and Coach Yegge has helped me get there as I will be going to play at Savannah State in Georgia which is division one softball. My parents also thought Kirkwood would be a good place to start because it’s not too far from home but far enough I could still get an experience and learn to live on my own.
What is your program of study and what interests you about it?: I am actually not set on a program yet but Criminal Justice is something I am highly considering. I watch so much law and order that it has influenced me to want to be on the streets. I am actually taking a Forensic science class right now and it really keeps me interested and our teacher does a good job of explaining to us what it is really like. I really wanted to work with others so thought about teaching but realized I would never be able to sit in a classroom all day so being on the go as a police officer will be a good fit for me.
Are you involved in anything else on campus? If so, what and why?: I am part of the Kirkwood softball team. Softball is what actually brought me to Kirkwood. As you know being a college athlete isn’t easy, thank god I love the game so all of the work always seems so rewarding to me. Not only do we lift at 6:30AM before class we then have practice and then after practice we have athletic study tables that we have to attend. To me not having much free time is a good thing because it keeps me on task and doesn’t really give me too much time to get off task.
What do you do for fun?: As I said before I don’t have too much free time but when I do family is always at the top of the list, when we get a weekend off I usually take advantage of that and go home to see my family. I also really enjoy shopping! Of course softball is something I like to do in my free time too, many times I spend my nights in the rec taking extra cuts or running.
Where do you see yourself in five years?: In five years I see myself as a police officer, hopefully down south somewhere. I’m not a big fan of the cold! I also see myself coaching a softball team whether it be college, high school, or travel ball I know I will be coaching just so I can stay in the game. I also see myself starting a family and owning my own home, I would like to eventually have three children.