When they learn they do, it takes a two-way titan to help them through. Tracers equipped with health knowledge, current data, and guidance assume that role. To address the human element, they tap into their inner psychiatrist.
“Just trying to listen to them and be there for them to talk to,” DeGeorge said of her beneficiaries. “Being put in isolation for two weeks, not being able to go to work, it’s not easy for anyone.”
She shows her teammates the same understanding. DeGeorge, along with fellow nursing major Kerigan Dowhy and five biology students, shares her expertise upon request or as needed to keep everyone smart and safe.
“I do think a lot of our teammates are really well-educated on the matter,” she said.
Nonetheless, it is tempting to go astray when pandemic fatigue lurks. That is when the health scholars lend a boost of fact-backed courtesy.
As unfavorable as the situation is, it brings another layer of leadership lessons relevant to DeGeorge’s longest-term aspirations. It also lets her give back what she has absorbed while pursuing her long-term athletic craving.
Two holiday seasons ago, DeGeorge got her first break with the U.S. Women’s National Team. She dressed alongside 10 Olympians in the first game of the inaugural Rivalry Series against Canada.
“The more experienced players have taught me a lot about having confidence in yourself,” she said. “I think that’s something I struggled with in a hockey sense.”
Now her conviction is shining on the stat sheet. DeGeorge leads the Beavers with nine points, including an overtime goal and assist plus BSU’s only special-teams strike, an opening-night shorthanded goal that forced another fourth period.
School-wise, DeGeorge’s drive has derived four university presidents’ list honors. The biannual accolade comes from retaining a 4.0 GPA throughout a given semester.
This multifaceted foundation, she believes, will translate to a career defined by “having confidence when I go into a patients’ room that I know what I’m doing.”
Until then, there is only so much she knows for sure. Academic overtime toward an advanced degree is tempting, but back in the game, it is largely wait-and-see.
Come what may, DeGeorge will scrap for a maximum extension of competitive hockey, one half of her lifelong norm.
“I don’t think I’m ready to part with that,” she said.
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
