Bio

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As the Academic Athletic Counselor at Gavilan College, I will be guiding you through your experience as a student-athlete at the collegiate level. I’ll be supporting your educational and personal goals from the start of your enrollment at Gavilan all the way through to graduation and/or transfer to the next level. Many of our student-athletes have the desire to transfer and compete in their sport at the NCAA or NAIA level, while some student-athletes want the opportunity to play sports at the community college level but focusing more on academic transfer to the 4 year University. Whatever your goal may be, we are committed to help support those efforts. At Gavilan College, we strongly believe in developing all aspects of our student-athletes’ well-being: physical, emotional, and mental.

I’ve been a counselor at Gavilan College since 2002 and have been working with our student-athletes for the past 15+ years. I love the work that I do and am inspired every day interacting with my students. I, too, was a student-athlete in college and understand the challenges that come along with the responsibilities that surround you. I grew up in Fresno, CA, attended Bullard High School and played Club Soccer since the age of 5. Sports was (and still is!) a way of life for me and my family. I was away on tournaments, Olympic Development trainings, and national events almost every weekend throughout the year. My parents would joke about spending Thanksgiving dinners at Denny’s at whatever tournament we happened to be attending that year. My athletic and academic endeavors led me to accept a full scholarship to the University of Virginia (it was a decision between UVA and UNC-Chapel Hill, but who wants to be a Tar Heel?). By the end of my 4th year, we were ACC Champions, had reached the Final Four, and I completed my BA in Psychology. I, then, went straight into a graduate program at the University of San Francisco and completed my MA in Counseling Psychology in Education. From there, I accepted a position to be the Head Assistant Coach for Women’s Soccer at Auburn University; an incredible experience that allowed me to see the flip side of college athletics.

Now that I’m grown up (sort of), I have the great fortune of getting paid back for obliging my family into Thanksgiving dinners at Denny’s as a young child. I am now responsible for 3 athletically-minded children, weekends consisting of soccer backpacks and games/tournaments, travelling to the next competition. I also now have the perspective of going through the recruiting process of intercollegiate athletics through a parent’s eyes. In addition, I am privileged to be part of an amazing coaching staff of Girls Varsity Soccer at Christopher High School in Gilroy. I currently reside in Gilroy, and my 3 children are products of the Gilroy public school system.

When we are not on the road, you can find us watching EPL futbol games, enjoying the seaside, and reading