Dec. 9, 2016
Over the course of the next few weeks GoPSUsports.com will be sharing updates from Penn State women's soccer alums. This week GoPSUsports.com caught up with Nittany Lion alum Jessie Davis.
Name: Jessie Davis
Hometown: Fairfax, VA (and now Boston, MA)
Years with PSWS: 2005-2008
Major: B.A. in Public Relations
GoPSUsports.com: How did Penn State prepare you?
JD: Penn State prepared me for so many things, in so many different ways.
I was a two-year captain, and overseeing twenty-some very different individuals was my first real look into managing people. I learned how different things motivated different personalities, and that you had to take time with each person to really learn what makes them tick.
It was the first time in my life that I was really making my own decisions, so I had to take ownership for my actions, which was quite the transition. Lastly, I also just learned about myself at Penn State. My best memories and my favorite people in the world came from my time at Happy Valley. I would go back and do it all over again in a heartbeat.
GoPSUsports.com: Favorite memory as a Nittany Lion?
JD: Almost impossible to name, but if I had to pick one, it would be my junior year in the second round of the NCAA tournament. We were playing Hofstra just a couple of nights before Thanksgiving. The game was rescheduled because of snow, and we weren't playing on Jeffrey, so things were off.
We had been outplaying them completely, but were down by one goal with just minutes remaining. Time just continued to tick down, but it was one of those games where you just knew we couldn't lose. We had so much momentum, but just couldn't finish our opportunities. I have a really clear memory of looking at the score board and just willing it to change. With less than a minute to go, the ball was at my foot. I passed it along to Carly Bedesem, who was a senior at the time, and probably feeling completely desperate to keep the season alive. With 14 seconds left in regulation, she just ripped a shot, far post, upper ninety. And wouldn't you know it, it went in.
I will never ever forget sprinting down the field trying to catch her as she ran and we all celebrated. I knew right in that instant that we would win, and just a minute into overtime, Shep (Katie Schoepfer) scored and we did. It was an incredible night.
GoPSUsports.com: What are you currently up to?
JD: Currently, I am a sales and marketing manager for a start-up endurance events management company, called RaceWire in Boston. We help organize and execute running events across the country (5Ks, 10Ks, etc.). That said, I am also preparing for a really big life change.
After taking about six years off of competitive soccer, I started to play again this summer. I made the roster of the Boston Breakers Reserves team (National Champs 2016!), and I am about to ship off to play abroad in Australia for a year, and help build a program with the Peninsula Power FC.
Taking so much time completely away from soccer allowed me to really focus on my career, but when I got the idea in 2015 that I wasn't finished, the game has completely won me over again. I think I love it more now than I ever did. I am now getting to combine two of my favorite things: soccer and traveling the world...can't beat that!