Feb. 15, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Junior Victoria Arena
Arena is a native of Lansdale, Pa., and a junior on Penn State's women's golf team. She has competed in two rounds of the Nittany Lion Invitational for Penn State this season.
Q: How did you first get involved in the game of golf?
A: My dad, actually. When I was little he started to pick up the game. When he started to pick up the game was when I began to tag along with him. I decided I wanted to do what my dad did, so I tried it and it just stuck with me.
Q: Where did you grow up and what was it like?
A: I grew up in Worcester, Pennsylvania. It's a small little town. It's growing, but it's across the street from a farm. I'm kind of a country girl, in a sense. I had everything you could possibly think of around me. I'm right near King of Prussia.
Q: Why did you choose Penn State?
A: Well for me, I'm an interesting story because I originally was a (Maryland) Terrapin. I transferred mid-year my freshman year because I was really unhappy there. I decided Penn State was a good school and a good program and it's not too far away from home but it's not too close either. It was a good fit for me. I like school, good academics, great coaches and everything. What more could I ask for?
Q: What is your most memorable experience at Penn State?
A: Big Tens. That was so much fun. It was when we hosted. It was when I had just transferred and I had arrived January 2008 and we hosting in April. It was wonderful. It was a great experience.
Q: What are some lessons you have learned while being at Penn State?
A: I think a lot of the good lessons that I've learned has been a lot of management of a time, budgeting you as a person between your school, work, golf gym time and any other thing that you do for your own personal academic reasons.
Q: Who is your biggest role model and why?
A: I've got to say my mom. My mom has been in several car accidents and she can walk. She's probably got one of the most positive attitudes that I know because she has just kind of taken each one in stride. She's had spine surgery and everything and she still gets up in the morning and still is a great mom so I'm really lucky.
Q: What are your future plans for after Penn State?
A: Law school and grad school together so I get a dual degree and be a J.D. for the law and a Ph.D. in philosophy. So hopefully, I'd like to be an attorney and then before I retire maybe a professor, either in a law school or a philosophy professor at a university.
Q: What are a couple things you want to do or see in your life?
A: One is the Autobahn. I like cars. I really want to race cars but my parents won't let me. Two is to successfully complete both my undergrad degree as well as my dual degree in grad school and law school. Then three, I'd like to have a family. I'd like to have two little girls.
Q: If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be?
A: I think Socrates would be a really cool guy to meet just because it goes with what I am learning and everything just to see how he would like grill people with questions would have been an interesting experience.
Q: Who is the funniest person on the team?
A: They all make me laugh in their own ways. My roommates are very funny. Gia (Fanelli) is really funny, Katherine (Murphy) is really funny, Lindsay (Cullen) is really funny and the freshmen are hysterical. We're all funny in our own ways.