Throughout the spring semester, we are honoring our senior student-athletes with a "Senior Salute" series. Today's featured senior is Lillian Miller, a physics major from Mentor, Ohio. Miller is a member of the women's lacrosse and women's soccer teams.
Q: Why did you choose to attend The College of Wooster?
A: I chose Wooster because it is an academically challenging school that also allows you to have time to be involved with other activities. I also really enjoyed the environment Wooster has. A lot of other schools I was looking at had more of a competitive energy instead of a cooperative energy.
Q: What does it mean to you to be a Fighting Scot student-athlete?
A: Being a student-athlete means you are publicly representing the College and it gives an added motivation to do well in your sport. It also provides a sense of community and a connection to all student-athletes who came before and will come after.
Q: What are some of your favorite memories as a student at The College of Wooster?
A: Academically, I've really enjoyed the lab experience I've gotten at Wooster. For me, the theoretical classes are more difficult to understand and are less engaging. Working in the lab creates such a cool collaborative environment and allows you to further your understanding of the material in a hands-on way. My favorite memories athletically come from my teams. I've had such amazing teammates in my four years and every year it seems to get better. Teammates are what gets you through tough games and practices. Going through those hardships together creates a great tight-knit community.
Q: What is the best part about being a student-athlete at The College of Wooster?
A: The best part about being a student-athlete is the community you get invited into. You not only have incredible relationships with people on your team, but you also get to know other student-athletes. A large part of the student body are athletes. It is nice knowing there are other people who understand what being a student-athlete is like.
Q: What else were you involved with on campus besides your sport?
A: Asides from sports, I am a STEM Zone intern, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative, member of Women's Athletic and Recreation Association WARA, secretary of the Astronomy Club, and member of the Physics Club.
Q: Which College of Wooster faculty or staff member has made the greatest impact on you and why?
A: Dr. (Susan) Lehman in the physics department helped me a lot when I was a first-year. Initially, I wasn't sure I wanted to be a physics major and didn't enroll in intro physics. After I decided I was interested in physics, I had a lot of meetings with Dr. Lehman to plan out my four years to make sure I could fit all the requirements for graduation. She was the professor for my Junior Independent Study lab where she gave constructive feedback and was supportive throughout the whole process.
Q: What other people or resources impacted your Wooster experience in a positive way and how did these people/resources set you up to be successful at Wooster?
A: During my first two years, I used the tutors offered by APEX (Wooster's center for Advising, Planning, and Experiential Learning) to help me with some of the classes I was taking. The tutors were a wonderful resource. Through working with them, I learned how I study and retain knowledge best. These techniques still help me in my senior year classes.
Q: Tell us a bit about your Independent Study project?
A: I am studying how galaxies evolve and grow and whether galaxies follow the inside-out or outside-in growth theories. I am studying what type of light is emitted from each part of the galaxies and comparing that to what astronomers know about stars within galaxies.
Q: Tell us a bit about something cool you did as a student at The College of Wooster?
A: I studied abroad in New Zealand the spring of 2020. Unfortunately, I was only there for a month due to COVID-19. Regardless, it was probably the best month I've had during my time at Wooster. It was so fun to meet new people and to learn how to live on my own in a new country. My friends and I found somewhere new to explore every weekend, and most of the time we found ourselves at the beach.
Q: Reflecting back on your time at Wooster, what is one piece of advice you would give your first-year (freshman) self?
A: Take more time to try classes outside of what you think you need to take. Your first year is time to explore what college has to offer, not necessarily to take major specific classes.
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Follow Wooster's women's soccer team on social media!
Connect with Wooster's women's soccer team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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