July 7, 2009

MILWAUKEE - Senior Allison McBride has seen her share of success during her four years as a member of the Golden Eagle Women's soccer team. McBride made her mark on the field as a strong presence on Marquette's tenacious back line, in the classroom as a dedicated scholar and on the world during a recent service trip to Peru. McBride sat down with GoMarquette.com to talk about her experience abroad, expectations for her fifth and final year on the pitch and her her future aspirations as she nears her December graduation.

GoMarquette.com: So you recently went to Peru, how did become involved in that experience?
Allison McBride: I learned about it through the College of Nursing, actually, which I am enrolled in. They started this program a year ago and at that time I wasn't far enough along in my classes to do it. This year, they re-ran the program, so I applied for it and got in.

What kind of things did you do with the program while you were there?
I earned credits for this trip. It's a nursing clinical called community health. Essentially we were just working out in the community doing a lot of different things. We lived at a parish while we were there, so everything we did was affiliated with the parish. They have a lot of healthcare services to offer to the community. We visited people in their homes out in the villages outside of the city and then did stuff around the parish like worked in an emergency department and worked at the hospice that the parish runs. We just did a lot of different community work.

So you were able to do a lot of work that really tied in with your major.
Yes, it was perfect. It was obviously very nice to get (class) credits at the same time while doing this kind of work.

What was the most valuable thing you learned while you were over there?
I guess mostly, since we were doing a lot of nursing work, I learned how universal nursing really is. I got to work with a lot of different nurses, not just from that area, but from around different parts of the world. It was just really unique to learn that we really do a lot of the things the same as they do.

It sounds like you guys did a lot of work while you were in Peru, did you get the opportunity to explore the area at all?
A little bit. We mainly stayed in the same city the whole time. We pretty much worked every day but there were a couple of days that we got to take day trips to the beach which was really nice. That was our break on the trip, so we did that on a couple of weekends. The beach was about 45 minutes away. It was nice to get to just relax and hang out.

Did you notice any major cultural differences in the time you were there?
I guess really being immersed in the poverty was kind of a shock, but my mom is actually from Peru so I had been down there many times before. It helped me be more prepared for that than I would have been had I have never been down there.

As a senior, what kind of leadership experience do you think you are going to be able to bring to the team this year?
I hope some! This will be my fifth year, so if anything hopefully just the experience of being here for four years. I think one of the biggest things I've gotten to know over the past years is what our coaches are all about and it takes a few years to learn and figure out just what they are looking for, what their goals are and how to be on the same page as them.

Since this is your fifth year, surely you have a lot of expectations for the season. What are some of them?
It's kind of funny looking back on it. My freshman year, I was kind of just there soaking it all in and now looking back on it, being a fifth year senior, it's like, oh, this is what those girls were feeling when I was a freshman.

I really want to go back to the BIG EAST Championships, I'd really like to win the conference tournament. That would just be awesome. We've come semi-close a bunch of times, so it's definitely an achievable goal. Of course, we always want to get back to the NCAA tournament. Those are the big ones.

Your younger sister Kerry is on the team, what has it been like getting the opportunity to play with her?
It's awesome. We played together one year in high school, but the dynamic of high school soccer and college soccer is very different. It's been so much fun. I'm really glad that I got to take my fifth year so I can play this extra year with her because we have a lot of fun out there.

So there's no sibling rivalry?
No, we play different positions, so that helps!

This coming season there will be sets of sisters on the team, what is it about Marquette that attracts families of players?
I really think that when they recruit you they really give off the family values. It is something that is really important to me and important to everyone that comes to school here. That was one of the biggest things that attracted me to coming here and I think that probably goes for everyone else on our team.

Do you think having all of the sisters on the team makes the team more cohesive all around?
I think so. It's something that is really unique. I don't think you find that on a lot of teams. This upcoming year, we will have three sets of sisters on the team, so it is really unique.

Last year you were named to NSCAA/ adidas Scholar All-Central Region Team, what does it mean to you to be recognized for your academic accomplishments?
That's probably one of the most important things to me. Soccer is extremely important to me, but that comes and goes and academics is what I am essentially here for at Marquette. It is a great honor because I really try to work hard as far as nursing goes. It's important to me because that is going to be my career for the rest of my life.

Your nickname on the team is "Flip." How did that come about?
My freshman year, we were trying on cleats in the locker room as they were handing out shoes. I asked for whatever the biggest size was and they didn't fit me, so they had to order a bigger size. Frank nicknamed me Flipper for my big feet, so that's that. It's stuck ever since. Flip for short.

You are graduating this December, do you have any post-grad plans yet?
Not Yet. This fall semester I'll start applying for jobs. With nursing, you usually start a couple months ahead of time. I really hope to start working right away in January. So far that's the plan.

With your last semester as a college student approaching, what are you most looking forward to?
I am really looking forward to closing in on graduation. I only have one class left to graduate and it is a good feeling to know that I am almost there. I'm just really looking forward to this fall soccer season. It's going to be nice to have a pretty relaxed academic year and be able to just enjoy the team and hopefully have a lot of success in my last season here.