Stacey Alysha Mcleod '09
In choosing a college, Calgary native Stacey Mcleod sought the best place to get an excellent education and play soccer. When she was recruited for the women's soccer team at Cornell and received a good financial aid package- made possible by Annual Fund dollars- all the pieces fell into place.
Both academically and socially, the university has exceeded her expectations. "I knew it would be difficult, but I had no idea just how tough it would be," Stacey says. She is in good company; like her, most of her peers did well in high school without having to work very hard. Now they all have to pour on the steam to keep up. "This school helps students be successful, though." She cites the availability of professors, the willingness of students to help each other, and many other resources as important means to help students become excellent students.
Even with the challenges of a heavy workload, Stacey finds her academic program very rewarding. "I know that what I'm learning will matter even more after I leave here." Majoring in human development in the College of Human Ecology, she thrives on courses like Memory and the Law, Human Development, and Adult Psychopathology. They form part of the foundation she'll need for graduate school and ultimately a career in counseling children.
Soccer, of course, is a big part of her life at the university. Although the team's win/loss record does not give her any bragging rights with friends at other schools, she thoroughly enjoys her teammates and the experience of playing together.
She also values another dimension of her cultural experience at Cornell. To her own surprise, she joined a sorority. "I knew nothing about sororities, and this was never a part of my plan," she says. But when others on her soccer team rushed, she explored the Greek organizations, too. She now lives in the Pi Beta Phi house with 40 other women. "That has meant I've gotten to know a lot of people I never would have met otherwise. My sorority has a reputation for attracting diverse people, and I have really enjoyed getting to know not just other athletes but women with a big variety of interests."
With studies, soccer, and sorority consuming her time, she uses summers to add important pre-professional experiences. She has coached soccer and taught soccer camps for kids, and she looks forward to other summer jobs where she can apply her growing knowledge of human development. Next year, she looks forward to adding some community work into her life, probably with children in an elementary school. "I love to watch the way they work and to see them grow," she says. Here, she is getting a strong foundation to do help them do just that.
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