General | 2/6/2020 12:58:54 PM
Lauren MacDonald is a four-year member of the Utica College women's soccer team, having appeared in 37 games throughout her collegiate career. MacDonald wrapped up her senior season in a tremendous way, helping lead the Pioneers to the 2019 Empire 8 Championship and berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
A native of Poughquag, NY, MacDonald is also a standout in the classroom as a health studies major. She is also President of Utica's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a leader in the campus community.
Lauren MacDonald - Tomorrow's Leader
Major: Health Studies
GPA: 3.4
Class Year: Senior
Anticipated Graduation Date: May, 2020
Favorite Professional Athlete: Derek Jeter
Favorite Team: United States Women's Soccer National Team
Various Academic Honors/Academic or Athletic Clubs:
- SAAC President
- Dean’s list
- Health Studies Student Society member
- Red Watch Band E-board member
What Type of Community Service Have You Done: Back at home I have volunteered to coach soccer clinics at local daycares each summer as well as volunteering at a Multiple Sclerosis fundraising softball tournament held in my hometown. Utica College has brought many opportunities for volunteer work to me between my soccer team and various clubs. With our soccer team, we would volunteer at the Night to Shine Prom for people with special needs. We also did a clean-up day every fall where we would rake lawns in our community for people who needed the help. For SAAC, each team gives a donation for The Evelyn’s House every year during the holidays. With the Health Studies Students Society, I got the opportunity to spend one on one time with patients at the Sitrin Health Care Center. And later this semester, I will be participating in a Learn to Swim Program at our local community college ran by the The Kelberman Center.
Plans After Graduation: After graduation, I am going to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
What Do You See Yourself Doing in 5 Years: I plan to be a nurse working in a hospital in or around New York City.
What is Your Ultimate Professional Goal: My ultimate goal is to be a successful nurse that is enjoying my job every day. I hope to be someone that can one day impact another person's life for the better.
Any Interesting or Exciting Internships You Have Done or Are Currently Working On: I’m very lucky to be a part of the creation of the Red Watch Band at Utica as a representative for the student-athletes. The Red Watch Band is a program that teaches students on proper bystander intervention and facts about alcohol overdose. We do trainings for the major organizations on campus like student athletes, student government leaders, sororities/fraternities, and res life. The training also comes with a CPR certification lesson at the end.
How Has Competing in the Empire 8 Prepared You For Life After College: Playing collegiate soccer in the Empire 8 showed me to never stop striving to be your best. The Empire 8 is made up of some of the toughest competition I’ve ever had the opportunity to play against. It opened my eyes to the amount of talent just us young athletes can have and it was one of the best experiences of my life.
Favorite Athletic Memory from Your Time in College: My favorite memory had to be winning the Empire 8 Championship this year. Along with two other seniors, our team went from winning 2 games in a season our freshman year to then making it to the NCAA’S for our senior year. It truly was a “Cinderella” story, and I couldn’t be prouder of all my teammates that got us that victory.
Biggest On-Campus Mentor: I’ve met many people who have truly made my experience at Utica so great but the person who made the biggest impact was my former coach Eileen Blumenauer. Although she wasn’t physically here for my senior year, she taught me a lot about myself and the person I wanted to become. She helped me through major injuries and struggles with school. I appreciate everything she has done for me in those short three years.
What Have You Learned About Yourself from Freshman to Senior Year: I’ve learned that it is okay to fail, as long as you get back up. Failure has taught me many things, but it truly showed me the type of person I am and who I want to be. I also learned to never forget your goals. College is a hard time and you may get lost at times, but always remember what your end goal is.
What Type of Leader Are You: I’ve always been the type of leader that will put my team and teammates before myself. I always try to motivate my teammates and make them aware of when they are doing good things. I’ve been on teams where I did not have any support from my teammates, so I want to assure that no one on my team feels that way. Every player deserves to know that they have a place on the team, and I tried to instill that in some of my own teammates.
One Thing Most People Do Not Know About You: Most people don’t know that I am obsessed with 80’s movies like The Breakfast Club, Dirty Dancing, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off just to name a few. I really enjoy classic movies like that.
Advice for Freshmen Teammates or Student-Athletes: I would tell them that this time of your life is going to come with many struggles but with those obstacles comes success. All of the work you put in for yourself, is also for your team and your school. You can’t take this time for granted, these next four years are going to leave you with memories that are unforgettable.
The Empire 8 Conference's “Tomorrow’s Leaders Compete Here” Series features a student-athlete from one of its member institutions who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. The complete list of featured student-athletes is available.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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