O'Brien Mixes Sports and School at Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins University has one of the best women's soccer teams in the nation this fall and 2008 Huntington High School graduate Leslie O'Brien is playing a key role on the squad. The Blue Jays entered the week with a 13-3 mark, 6-2 in the Centennial Conference.
"Soccer is going well this year," the 20-year old junior said. "We have an extremely deep and talented team with the potential to go really far in the post-season. We have had a few moments of greatness, such as giving the number one team in the nation, Messiah, a close 2-1 game, as well as coming back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Wittenberg in the beginning of the season."
Ms. O'Brien has played in all 16 JHU games this fall and started five. She has two goals and one assist. She has appeared in 53 games over the past three years.
"At this point, we are just trying to work hard in order to win the conference tournament for the sixth consecutive year and advance further than we ever have in the NCAA tournament," the Huntington grad said about the Blue Jays.
During her first two collegiate seasons, Ms. O'Brien played forward, but this season she has been used extensively at center midfield. "My hope for our team is to advance to the Final Four and to hopefully face Messiah again to avenge our loss," she said.
As a Huntington High School senior, Ms. O'Brien earned the coveted William Class Memorial Scholarship. She won all-county and all-state soccer honors while playing for the Blue Devils and garnered all-county recognition in winter and spring track. At the time of her graduation, Ms. O'Brien held four school track and field records. She also played two years of high school lacrosse.
Academically, Ms. O'Brien was among the best in the Class of 2008. She was on the school's high honor roll from her freshman year on, held a 98.6 grade point average, completed a slate of Advanced Placement courses and was a member of the National Honor Society and the Italian and Math honor societies.
At JHU, Ms. O'Brien is majoring in public health. Soccer and a heavy class workload keep her very busy. "School has been going really well this semester," she said. "I am really enjoying most of my classes, especially Leadership Theory and Introduction to Fiction and Poetry II and International Marketing. Even though they require a lot of work, I feel like I am really learning a lot from my professors and have started to build stronger relationships with them."
The Huntington alum is currently taking classes required for a public health major and a minor in entrepreneurship and management. She expects to graduate in December 2011, a full semester early.
"After graduation, I plan to either enter the workforce or possibly pursue a master's degree in public health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, which would only require an extra year of studying."