Jan. 19, 2017
Hometown: Baltimore, Md. (currently in Boston, Mass.)
Years with PSWS: 2004-2008
Major: Economics
GoPSUsports.com: How did Penn State prepare you?
ZB: Judging by my post-college path, Penn State prepared me to do any number of things. During the several years between graduating college and entering medical school, I interned for a sports-based youth development program in Nicaragua and worked for a public radio broadcast in New York promoting the healing power of listening.
While each post-graduate experience was unique, they all required passion, hard work, and a team-based approach. These qualities are part of the fabric of Penn State, and were instilled in each of us, day after day, practice after practice, win or lose. I went to college to receive an education, but came away with so much more than that having been part of the PSWS team.
GoPSUsports.com: Favorite memory as a Nittany Lion?
ZB: While playing alongside my teammates and for my coaches was a blast, many of my favorite memories stem not from the games we played, but from all of the moments we spent together in between. We didn't just compete together; we cooked, ate, lived, traveled, and spent holidays together.
An assortment of my fondest memories from Penn State include: Michael Coll's epic halftime speeches in which he once successfully used the phrase "Bastion of Invincibility", every Thanksgiving we celebrated in a different hotel buffet, consistently out-benching the wrestlers in the weight room (just kidding...not but really), dancing in THON with my teammate Kaleen Adami, and trips with my teammates to Nicaragua, Argentina, Brazil, and (of course) every single Big Ten town.
What has become clear to me as I sit down to write this is that 1) college was so incredibly fun and 2) the most enduring and important relationships in my life were built during my time at Penn State.
GoPSUsports.com: What are you currently up to?
ZB: Currently, I am a fourth-year student at Harvard Medical School planning to specialize in pediatrics. I got married last year to a man who still hasn't witnessed a live Penn State football game, which is our only real point of contention (sadly, he's a Tar Heel).
While I don't play soccer nearly as much as I used to, I'm proud to support my teammates who have gone on to compete professionally and for Women's National Teams the world over, and to support the use of soccer as a tool for social change through my work with Soccer Without Borders.