Case Women's Soccer: Summer at Case!

contributed by Amy Baumann '11, Biology/Spanish major (pre-med), Chemistry minor

School ended about a month ago, and after a very few short weeks at home I am already back at Case. My summer will be spent doing research; I applied to and was accepted to an undergraduate research program funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. I just began last week and so far it has been intense, interesting, and a little scary.

Thankfully, I won’t be by myself this summer. There are tons of other girls from the team who are also on campus for the summer. Jen is doing research as well, a continuation of research she did last summer from the same program I’m doing this summer. Froms is also working. Frannie, Cicy, and Steph are all taking classes and working. We’ve already planned our first pick-up game of the summer! There are also many of my non-soccer friends who are here as well. All in all, it looks to be a fun summer.

I decided to research this summer because I am a pre-med student and research is one summer job that will definitely stand out on my applications. I’ve also never done research before, and thought it would be a good idea to get some experience in it since it is so intertwined with medicine. Life as a pre-med student at Case hasn’t been too bad so far; sure the classes can be challenging, but pretty much everyone here has difficult classes. Although I haven’t started studying for the MCAT yet – so that will probably change.

Balancing soccer and school comes down to one thing: time management. If you manage your time wisely, you can do everything you want, and still get sleep! I am a Biology and Spanish double major with a minor in Chemistry. On top of classes, I play soccer, am a member of Alpha Phi Omega (Case’s coed community service fraternity), and have volunteered at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. Next spring I want to volunteer at the Cleveland Free Clinic. I would love to study abroad but unfortunately did not plan my classes out wisely, so I do not think that will be happening.

Also this summer I will be working out! It is so important to come into the season in shape so that we can spend our time focusing on things other than fitness. Thankfully there are so many other people here to work out with. I know that the team has big expectations for next season. Personally, I think it will be the best season since I’ve been here. It is really cool to be around the other girls and feel the buzz of excitement for next season.

I am sure this summer will go by quickly – too quickly – but it will definitely be fun. It will also be worth it. I am excited for next year. However, talking about our expectations only counts for half; the rest involves how each person prepares during the summer. I hope everyone is as excited as I am!