CORPUS CHRISTI – Throughout the year, GoIslanders.com's Christina Boothe will feature student-athletes from each of our 15 sports. Every Monday, we will bring you a Q&A session with a student-athlete, while Wednesday we will feature an in-depth story of a student-athlete. Be sure to keep tabs on GoIslanders.com as well as our Facebook (Islanders Athletics) and Twitter/Instagram (Go_Islanders) pages throughout the year for more information.
Many athletes come into college ready to participate in a well-established program and contribute to a legacy. Islanders Soccer is a little bit different. Players came in last year ready to start a program and create a legacy within it.
Some of those players were freshmen, who have dedicated their first and now their second years of collegiate athletes to developing a team. But some of those athletes came in as junior transfers, and they play their final season with Islanders Soccer as seasoned veterans leaving a budding program in the hands of underclassmen.
Alyssa Miller, a forward for the Islanders Soccer team and an outgoing senior, gives her two cents on the program's potential and the joys and heartbreaks of being a senior.
GoIslanders (GI): You transferred from Kansas, but you're originally from Colorado. Do you like Texas best out of all these places?
Alyssa Miller (AM): Home will always have my heart, but I love being able to experience new places, which is why I decided to not stay at home and play soccer.
GI: Being a senior is a really powerful position to have on the field, as well as emotional. What are you going to do after this?
AM: I'm majoring in criminal justice, and I really want to help kids. That's my passion. I'm looking into social work or being a probation officer, something like that where I can work with kids.
GI: You're on a team that's composed of underclassman. How does that affect your approach as a senior?
AM: It was such a young team, and we all had an input on its shaping. I have a lot of things to show and tell because I've played college soccer longer, but I feel like everyone has the same amount of leadership.
GI: How important is it to you to make the conference tournament since it's your last year?
AM: Extremely important. That's one of the goals that we set during preseason. That's something I want really badly.
GI: Where do you think the future of the program is going to go after you leave?
AM: Definitely going to succeed. The program now is amazing, and I can only imagine what it's going to develop to in a few years. Who wouldn't want to come to school here and play on an island?
GI: You battled a lot of injuries in the last few years. But you're injury-free at the start of the senior year, and hoping to continue that. How were these injuries difficult for you, and how did they make you a better athlete?
AM: It made me not take this for granted as much. My ACL has definitely motivated me to get back on the field and become a better player for my coaches, teammates, and family back home. So these injuries are definitely a motivator, or pusher.
GI: Your most memorable goal, the Golden Goal, was your goal against McNeese last year that gave Islanders Soccer its first conference win as a program. Go back to that moment and describe what was going through your mind right as you shot the goal and it went into the net. What were you thinking?
AM: Relief. Excitement. Words can't really explain what I was feeling. I was exhausted. I just remember falling down in complete relief. It was an awesome feeling, something that I'll always keep in my heart.
GI: Are you considering pursuing professional soccer in the future?
AM: I don't think my body will allow me to pursue professional soccer, so I'm just focusing on school and graduating right now.
GI: What's one thing that you would tell incoming athletes as an outgoing senior?
AM: Always play with heart. Come every day wanting to learn and enjoy every minute of it, because it's only here for four years if you're lucky. Just enjoy every moment.
GI: What about soccer are you going to miss when you graduate?
AM: Definitely not waking up early every morning. But soccer's been my life since I was five years old. I'm going to miss having that routine and team atmosphere all the time. It's going to be weird not having my teammates around.
