2024 Allison Straub
commits to Bowdoin College!

Player Name: Allison Straub
Grad Year: 2024
College Choice: Bowdoin College (D3)
Date Committed: August 2, 2023
State: Maryland
High School: Severn School
Club: Freedom HKY
Position: Midfield
Honors/Accomplishments: 2022 Varsity Player’s Choice Award, 2021 Junior Varsity MVP
What will you major in/study?:  At the moment, I am still unsure of what I want to study, but, to me, that is the appeal of a liberal arts school. I will have the freedom to explore lots of various academic interests. However, I do know I would love to study science, and the Neuroscience major and the Neurochemical Chemistry concentration are appealing to me.
Why did you choose this school?: Since starting the recruiting process, I discovered I wanted to attend a smaller school with a liberal arts program. The summer before my junior year of high school, my parents signed me up for half a dozen tours of schools in New England. Initially, I only agreed to look at Bowdoin because a close family friend was previously the women’s basketball head coach. However, I am so glad I got to see the campus because I fell in love with it, even though it was during the summer and the campus was pretty empty. The admissions worker and tour guide were so informative! My parents then drove me to the athletic center, and we saw Howard F. Ryan Field, which immediately excited me, and I wished to play on the field with the team. Afterward, my parents and I explored Brunswick, making the school more appealing. Since then, I have built my relationship with the Bowdoin coaches, Coach Pearson and Coach McManus, only to learn they were incredible coaches to work with! I returned to campus in the Spring for a prospective student-athlete clinic, and after meeting the team, being coached by Coach Pearson and Coach McManus, and seeing the campus more lively, I knew that Bowdoin was the school for me.
Other Schools Considered: The other colleges I considered were primarily other NESCAC schools. I was interested in attending a small liberal arts college and was drawn to the New England Culture. The NESCAC schools I looked at were Wesleyan University, Hamilton College, Amherst College, Bates College, and Connecticut College. Outside the conference, I also considered Vassar College, Franklin & Marshall College, and Ohio Wesleyan University.
Who would you like to thank?: I owe so many people gratitude for helping me achieve this goal of committing to Bowdoin College. My mom and dad have been my biggest cheerleaders throughout the recruitment process. They took so much time out of their schedules to drive me up north for camps, clinics, and tours. Not only that, but all the club tournaments, practices, and games they took me, and they have never missed one of my high school games! They put in as much effort as I did, helping by proofreading all my emails, reminding me to message a college coach, and even sending me timestamps from my game footage to potentially use for highlight reels! My coaches from my club, Freedom Hky, and school, Severn School, also deserve to be thanked. They taught me so much and helped me become the player and person I am today. The long practices, bad days, challenging games, and tough conversations with them were worth it. I also owe my gratitude to my teammates from school and club. I am not where I am now without them, but because of them. I watched them grow, they’ve watched me grow, and we’ve grown alongside each other and even more together. I would also like to thank all my family and friends for their unwavering support as I handled this long process. They never left my side and helped share kind words or necessary critiques whenever I was in need. Everyone in my life deserves my endless gratitude for their help and support throughout the long and tedious recruitment process!