<ir="ltr">Spring term has finally rolled around and for most students, this means sunbathing and not following many Carleton rules (Spring Term No Rules). However, for Carleton seniors, it signals their last term as a Carleton student, and a time to reflect on their Carleton experience. Sadly, spring term marks the end of many athletic careers as well, but the memories of being a Carleton student-athlete will never be forgotten.
One group of senior student-athletes that are saying goodbye to Carleton this spring are the four seniors on Carleton’s Varsity Women’s Soccer Team. This group, self-proclaimed as the ‘Core Four,’ truly portrays a variety of interests and personalities on and off of the field. Described by Anna Huber ‘19 as, “A group of people that truly held [the] team together like duct tape,” the Core Four definitely represent the ideal Carleton Knights.
One of the members of the ‘Core Four’ is Mikayla Coulombe ‘16, who was described Hannah Hemmerly ‘19 as “a keeper on and off of the field.” Coulombe played goalie for the knights and is an English major. Her favorite part of being a member of Carleton Women’s Soccer was “the fast-paced and forward thinking culture our teams possessed on the field, but that permeated into all areas of my life, even into the fast speed with which I am now able to eat my meals.”
For her plan for next year, Coulombe “considered looking into being the goalie coach for the team but [she] knew that [her] talents would best be used elsewhere.” She is considering a move out to the West coast after graduation.
Perhaps Coulombe will run into the second member of the ‘Core Four,’ and Pacific-Northwest native, Megan King ‘16, out on the West Coast. Described by Hailey Mair ‘19, King is someone who “may not be a very peppy person, but was definitely someone who brought a needed level of seriousness and no-nonsense to our team at all times.”
King was a center midfielder for the Knights and is a biology major. She said that the best part about being a soccer player at Carleton was “the electric love she felt for coaches, but additionally teammates.” Her favorite part of this past season was “being able to play a multitude of positions that she never knew she wanted to play before learning to love them in the game.” The main attribute she learned from playing soccer at Carleton was “the ability to remain serious in all situations and rarely showcase a smile.” In the future, Megan plans to “pursue her passion in serious disciplines such as biology.”
The third member of the ‘Core Four’ is Lindsay Rand ‘16, a forward whose playing style has been described as “classic and physically methodical” by teammates. She is a physics and classics double major. Her favorite part about soccer at Carleton was “definitely the unique relationship that I shared with my coaches.” Rand plans to move to Washington D.C. after graduation and her goals for the future include “pursuing passions outside of the classroom and off the field, perhaps including working as a scientist/chef who experiments with the effects of salinity and poultry.”
Senior, and fourth member of the ‘Core Four,’ Maddy Horn ‘16, plans on pursuing her passion for the outdoors this spring term because of a lighter class load and the end of soccer. Horn was described by Ruby Kazemi ‘19, as someone whom “was easy to connect with because of a shared passion for the great outdoors.” Horn was a center back for Carleton Women’s Soccer and is an English major. Her favorite soccer memory at Carleton was “the loving support she received from teammates and coaches through various foot injuries and ailments.”
As for future plans, she “will probably try and remain involved with soccer as a player, though I don’t have much interest in coaching at the moment.” Instead, she will attend Cornell Law School next fall.
Horn will be joining other seniors this spring term, enjoying the sun and outdoors, and reflecting on her time at Carleton. The diversity that this group of spectacular seniors brings to the table proves as an example of the diversity of the Carleton student body. Their performances on the field will never be forgotten, and they will undoubtedly make a giant impact on the world.