Interview with Brynn Crouse, Duke University

Interview with Brynn Crouse, Duke University

Interviewer: We’ll just jump in here, I’m super excited we could find some time together. Our first big question, especially to someone who was a high recruit coming out of high school…

How did you end up at Duke? What was that process like?

Brynn: Okay, so, for field hockey there has been a rule change since I was recruited – we used to be able to get recruited very early on. So, the first time I was seen by Duke was the summer after eighth grade going into ninth. I came to the camp; I think it was my best performance ever. But that’s where I met the coaches. They continued to follow me throughout my freshman year and then they offered me in April of my freshman year of high school. That was my first offer that I got from a school. I was talking to other schools, Big 10 mostly like Michigan, Iowa, Northwestern, but Duke was my first offer, and I knew I wanted to take it.I think it has the best combination of academics and athletics both being taken very seriously at a high level. I knew it would be more challenging academically and athletically; they were ranked, I think, number three after the season when I committed so I was coming into a really good program, but I wanted to go somewhere that would challenge me, so that’s how I got here. It wasn’t my only offer, but I knew I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.

Interviewer: Yeah, that’s great insight and obviously that’s super young, I didn’t know it was even possible to be so closely monitored athletically at that age. So, clearly you were very good at young age which is cool.

Brynn: Yeah it was very young, I would talk to coaches on the phone when I was like 14 and they were like so what are you looking for, for college and I had no clue what that was like because I was a freshman in high school. It was scary but it was before COVID so luckily I already knew that I had a school and then COVID kind of changed things for a lot of other people after me.

Interview: Yeah it changed a lot for that whole process, and just with my familiarity with athletics and what’s happened with NIL, in some ways you just made the decision of where to go to high school and then you’re thinking years ahead at 14 years old, like you’re saying you’re almost growing up with some of these coaches and who knows if they’re going to be at the college once you get there because it’s so early.

What else went into the decision? Was it Duke’s reputation and also things like location and weather? Did other factors contribute to your decision? Because there are so many other good schools out there.

Brynn: 100%. I refused to look at any school that was north from where I’m from, I’m from central Pennsylvania, and I knew I wanted to go south. I’ve always wanted to live like more in the South; it’s warmer, the weather here has been great, we’re already starting to get a tan.But the team culture is unlike any other; I mean our team really is team-first. They’re my best friends. We’re not in sororities or other things like that, I know some schools are allowed to do that, but it’s all about our team so it’s awesome.

Interviewer: Yeah that makes sense. There is so much to unpack and it really sounds like the team is a family.

So, for field hockey, you come in and you get to campus for the first time and what’s that like? You’re obviously aware of what it’s like to be an athlete with your experience so you kind of know what that’s going to be like to an extent, but it’s a huge transition. What did the first week, or first month as a First Year at Duke look like in making the transition to campus?

Brynn: So I graduated high school in June, and then came at the end of that same June for six weeks and trained with the team and some of the girls that were here and took a class so that was nice. It was a nice acclimation period for the first year and then I came back and I was lik, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to be here for the rest of my life.’ I had a chance to get used to what a class at Duke is like and what the lifts are like with our strength and conditioning coach, what the running is like, and get a feel for campus before fall started because once you get into season, as a fall sport, especially as a freshman, like everything at once is hitting you, and it can be overwhelming. But I think the summer session really helped me get my feet wet first.

Interviewer: Yeah and campus is a bit quieter which is nice, you kind of explore a new place.

Then in those tiny windows, I know again super busy, but in those small windows of free time where you can connect kind of outside of academics and athletics are there any favorite places on campus or off campus in the area that you and your teammates hang out?

Brynn: Yeah, there are a few… One of our favorite places is called Eno, it’s a state park, and there is also a quarry, so you can hike up a trail and then it was an old quarry and now it’s filled with water and there are a bunch of logs in there and so we’ll like to go there in the summer. We go to places like that with our friends; we love finding new ice cream places, we love doing a lot of things outside and we’ve made a really good network of friends with some other teams because we roomed with them. Teams like women’s lacrosse, volleyball, track and field, so by this point now that we’re juniors, we have a pretty solid friend group outside of the field. Hockey team as well, which has been really awesome. We’re also really good friends with the football guys, so we do a lot of stuff with them.

Interviewer: Yeah nice. So, your community is kind of set just from the jump in the summer and then you get to meet other teams, which is cool, and like you were saying, just the area being really conducive to outside activities and so it’s really a healthy mindset.

But just going back to what you were saying about choosing Duke and its culture, what do you and your friends look for beyond academics and athletics? How do you fit in other things like career exploration and career events?

Brynn: Yeah, Duke Athletics and the academic center have such a strong program for the athletes as far as like tutors, the career fair, Dawn Kane, she is the main person for the department and she does a really good job of sending out internship opportunities, different shadowing opportunities, career fair events, et cetera. It really is all about what you make of it because you can choose to go to as little or as many as you want, but they definitely throw out a lot of events for us to go to and they offer a lot of great services for resume building, and other resources that make it super easy for us to get help, but we have to take that first step.

Interviewer: And just to confirm did I ask what year you’re in?

Brynn: I’m a junior now.

Interviewer:

Okay, so how has that focus changed for you?

I mean again, first year you’re kind of getting settled, you’re exploring a million different resources and thankfully Duke has some great grad schools as well, to kind of explore just on campus. But have you shifted a bit, kind of, as junior year and then you’re kind of like,

‘Oh, I’m going to do this senior year’ or have you shifted to more of that career focus yet? What are some of your short-term goals in the next couple years?

Brynn: I would say like honestly as soon as I got here I’ve been going to events and trying to build somewhat of a network. But I’m still not entirely sure what I want to do for a career. My major is political science with a focus in econ. I came into Duke thinking I wanted to go to law school, but then I realized I don’t think I want to do that anymore. So, I’m still political science, but also just looking for a job that kind of fits that. Luckily, it covers a lot of different things. But I have an internship for this summer, so that’s good. And then hopefully if that goes well, you know we’ll see what happens after that.

Interviewer: Oh nice, that’s awesome!

Is there any influence on your career direction from family or friends in terms of like what they’re pursuing or what your family does professionally?

Brynn: Actually, yes. My dad is in sales, like computer hardware sales and he’s really liked that so far, so I think that is an area like I really want to get into but more of the software side. So, I need to take a look into that. It’s not necessarily something like you need an internship for with that company to get an offer, so I could explore that depending on how this internship goes.

Interviewer: Yeah, that makes sense, just kind of from my understanding to summarize it’s a combination of this amazing system and just organization that Duke is in the community and everything that Duke’s support systems have introduced you to for opportunities, you have friends and all the close connections and then even just your parents that you’ve been able to lean on to learn more about industries and opportunities. And you were saying your major it’s really relevant as a skill set and what you’re studying what you’re learning about. I think that’s just kind of a holistic view of how to prepare but also how to enjoy some of your time as an undergrad which is great.

What would you tell high school students that were in your shoes at 14, 15, 16 getting recruited to colleges? What made you feel successful or excited about what you were going to do in college and how to make the most of it?

Brynn: Yeah that’s a good question. I think at the age of around 14, 15, 16 all you can really do is just work your tail off. That’s when you’re trying to get seen so keep showing up, putting the work in. I knew that if I would give my best effort something would turn out for me and I’m very grateful for the opportunity that presented itself for me because I worked very hard during those years. I made a lot of sacrifices and that’s what it takes. And then as for Duke, I knew part of it intimidated me, I mean everyone here is talented and whatever they’re here for. If they’re here for a sport, they’re really good at their sport. If they’re here for academics, they’re really intelligent. So, I knew that would be a challenging time but I saw it as an opportunity as like iron sharpens iron, there’s a time for growth so just if you’re younger thinking about how you can challenge yourself because it will pay off and it will make you a better person when you end up somewhere that you want to be. And then as for making the most of my time here I would say in my more recent time involving myself in activities outside of just the team and outside of just the classroom. My favorite experience was this past summer, so my sophomore summer, I applied for a program called ACE which is a fully funded three-week service trip. It was in Cape Town, South Africa. There were 12 of us that went, all student athletes, and so it was a fun three-week trip. We did a service program, where we were primarily trying to teach sports and play sports with the kids in the Langa township in Cape Town. However, it was their winter season and it was very rainy for the first time all year; they had record-breaking rain. So, we were bound inside, but still playing with kids and teaching them academically, but that was such a rewarding experience, and now I have a network of 11 people that I didn’t know before, like people from the rowing team, swim and dive team, track and field, and it was the best experience I’ve ever had, and that’s something that Duke has given me which has been great.

Interviewer: So, you’re always branching out and you’re always finding time even in your really busy schedule to do more. I think you’ve mentioned like the challenge of preparing for Duke and then the challenge of competing at Duke, and just being impressed by the community, I think that’s a good lesson for the job market too, and something that people try to figure out if there’s a connection between what they’re doing in undergrad, whether it’s classes or extracurriculars, that kind of thing, and then how to apply it to the job market.

So, in that lesson, do you think that it’s been a good experience for you to be challenged and at Duke, one of the top academic and athletic places in the country for undergrads, is that going to prepare you even more for the job market?

Brynn: I definitely think so, I think the caliber of excellence here like no matter where it is on this campus is very high. I don’t know if I’ll be ever surrounded by this many people that are so talented in what they do. I mean, honestly, like we have girls on our team who are reaching high levels in new careers and I think that’s very inspiring. I think there’s been times where I feel like my head is underwater, but I think that’s raising my threshold for um challenge and just helping me grow.

Interviewer: It’s just cool to see like no matter what school, no matter what level, everyone has those moments of just like this is insane or this is overwhelming. So in conclusion, final question for you.

What’s your absolute favorite thing about Duke?

Brynn: The people that I’ve met here. My teammates specifically, the people do make the place. Duke itself is awesome but it’s the people here that make it the best place so special. Like I said, I can’t say enough: everyone has goals, they’re ambitious, and it is so wonderful to be surrounded by people who make you motivated.

Interviewer: Well, Duke clearly backs up its reputation, and there’s no surprise. And just as a sports fan, I follow a lot of the top colleges anyway, so Duke’s definitely on that list. Thank you so much again for your time. This was a very fun conversation.