Throughout my years as a collegiate athlete, I've learned a lot about leadership and what it takes to compete at the next level. As a fifth year senior goalkeeper, I've developed my leadership skills and my confidence has grown beyond what I thought was possible. As someone who has struggled with injuries throughout my career, the value of self-discipline and extra work off the training pitch is not lost on me. Anyone can be a "good" athlete with the work put in at training sessions with the team. The work off the pitch, when nobody is watching is what makes a difference. At the end of each season, my team does anonymous evaluations of one another, and I was voted as "passionate" and "above and beyond when nobody is watching". I believe my habits and dedication to being the best footballer I can be have rubbed off on my teammates and has helped elevate our standard. I take great pride in my preparation and my process before training. I eat well, and fuel my body for success on the pitch. Good nutrition is half the battle, and I pride myself on my nutrition. I have to adher to a strict gluten free diet because of my celaics disease, but I also make sure to eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins. I also meal prep for away matches because most restaurants on the road don't fit into my personal nutrition standards. I also make a great effort to get adequate sleep, even if it means missing out on social opportunities. I have a WHOOP device and I strictly follow the sleep recommendations from the app, to allow my body a greater chance at recovery so I can reach peak performance on the day. My team has a running joke that I spend the most time in the athletic training room, but as someone who has dealt with knee and ankle injuries for years, I will take all the extra time to make sure my body is recovered and avoiding injury so I can compete. Ice baths, recovery boots, and rehab exercises are a daily occurrence in my life as a student athlete. I also love to be a student of the game. As someone who wants to pursue a professional soccer career, I have to constantly be breaking down my game and finding ways to elevate it. I spend hours watching myself, my opponents, and professionals play. My teammates come to me for help with film and for schedules of professional games to increase their soccer IQs. I believe these habits have impacted my teammates and helped elevate our standard as a program. My teammates know they can come to me for extra work. When a forward wants to take shots, a free kick specialist wants to work on her bent ball, a defender wants to work on playing out of the back, a winger wants to work crosses, another keeper wants to work on handling, they know they can come to me. I have helped raise the standard by being first in fitness as a goalkeeper and it has since pushed my team to step up and compete with me. While I'm not afraid of being "unpopular" and holding the standard, I love my teammates and push them on and off the pitch to be better footballers. I hold them accountable and they hold me to my standard as well. I believe that this is a shining example of what it means to be a "glue girl".