As my 5th year at Penn State comes to an end, I have started to collect my thoughts about what made my college career special. Well, for one, Penn State Rugby had the biggest impact on my life in college and will have that impact for the rest of my life. One would think that winning 3 national championships during my time at PSU is what made it special- it isn’t. The most memorable stuff was the moments leading up to championship weekends. Our April Pushes are something that I will forever remember as being that extra hour a week that made all the difference in team chemistry, performance, and being able to play under pressure.
As a freshman, all I cared about was rugby, which took a pretty hefty toll on my academics. My sophomore year was tough because I had some kind of injury for most of the year- we won the national championship in 2007 but I was not on the field due to a concussion from the semi-final game. 2008 was the year that the “big picture” of Penn State Rugby started to come together for me- this was the year that we lost in the last seconds of the game. The loss felt devastating because we really did “win” that game even though the score board showed differently. 2009, my senior year, I captained the team in the fall and haven’t been the same since. It taught me about selflessness and composure in stressful times, which I previously had not taken the time to figure out myself. In 2009 we won the national championship and I remember the game as being a lot of fun- it was difficult, physical, and fast. I remember thinking; man, next year is going to be tough because of all the seniors we are losing. From May of 2009 until today I have not looked back, I have only been focused on what we would be able to do this year.
