For this edition of 10 Questions, Sun Columnist Katie Schubauer sits down with senior field hockey captain Olivia Boyd. They discuss the forward’s fascination with uncooked chicken nuggets, fear of outer space and former TV experience.
1. Olivia, you are a senior captain on the women’s field hockey team. What has Cornell field hockey meant to you over the course of your college career?
It has really meant a lot to me. I feel like it has shaped my college experience in the best way possible. I’ve had the chance to make some of my best friends at school and I’ve gotten to test myself in terms of trying different things athletically and learning about time commitment; but it has also just been really fun. I am trying to make the most of it these last couple months.
There are only two seniors on the team. Was the senior recruiting class really that small?
At one point there were four of us and then it kind of trickled down over the years. We still consider Maura Greenwood and Jess Buckingham kind of surrogate members of our class but unfortunately they quit the team. Now it makes it kind of easy when we do things like “account for your class” and I just have to find [fellow senior captain Alex] Botte — so that’s nice. It definitely helped us get a lot closer and I think it helps communication with a small class.
Did you play any other sports in high school?
I did track and basketball.
What made you choose field hockey?
I guess it was getting toward the end of high school and I was tyring to figure out what I was most serious about and field hockey was my favorite, I suppose. I was debating between track and field hockey but I really liked the team aspect of field hockey. I loved my high school team and I was kind of looking to find something like that in college. I definitely did. I absolutely love the team here. Everyone is hilarious; everyday is a good time as well as a challenge.
2. You have been known to use your field hockey aggressiveness sometimes late at night in certain Collegetown establishments when people are bumping into you too much. What is one thing you would like to get across to those people if any of them are reading this article?
I apologize. I’m not usually like that, but sometimes when Collegetown establishments get really hot and stuffy, you just have to kind of bump your way around. You see that person you want to talk to or that place you are trying to get to across the room and you just have to be determined and make your way there. But I apologize for my aggressiveness.
Is it true that you have a field hockey rap?
Yes. Sophomore year, for some reason, I took it upon myself to change the words of “Imma be” — which definitely wasn’t popular yet — so I would get it across that I was really on the forefront of that song. Anyway, I changed the lyrics to “Fhockey,” so it went “Fhockey, Fhockey, Fhoooooockey.” And I changed a lot of the words — it was a pretty long rap. Then I performed it before our Dartmouth game. I don’t really know what I was thinking when I did that, but I am always looking for some way to rile up the team and get everybody inspired. It was really fun.
Did your rap take some of the team’s nerves away before the game?
You know, I’ll say that’s why I did it. I think it helped. People got pretty pumped after. I tried to get other people on the team to help me perform it but no one was really biting so it was just a solo show in front of the whole team.
3. Your friends say that you have conversation mannerisms akin to those of a five year old. Is this true?
Yes. I guess sometimes I use words like “twidley dink” or “beep bop boop.” I went through a phase where I just added “siccles” to everything; for example, I called Botte “Bottesiccles.” I definitely went through a “beep bop boop” stage — not really sure why.
What is an appropriate usage of that phrase?
It’s kind of like when people use the word “womp.” So if something is not going well you can use “beep bop boop.” Let’s say you get a flat tire — beep bop biddly, that stinks.
4. Would you consider yourself a superstitious person?
I would say in some ways, definitely. I am pretty ritualistic. When we do drills, I try to get in the same order or eat the same sandwiches before games. We also always get milkshakes as a team the night before games and have an all-out dance party right before the game starts.
Could you please tell readers about a certain meditation ritual you have?
Sometimes to make sure that my hits are accurate, I get in a closet and meditate whilst speaking in Pig Latin … oh wait. Sorry, I am getting confused — that is my teammate Paige [Mollineaux].
You also never miss saying the words “rabbit rabbit” on the first of the month. Why is that?
Some people don’t really know what that is, so in case you are one of those people, back in the day on Nickelodeon there was this thing they said where if “rabbit rabbit” is the first thing you say at the beginning of each month, it is good luck. So now every first day of the month, you have to say “rabbit rabbit” either at midnight or right when you wake up and it gets you off to a good start. But I have to credit Nickelodeon with giving me the heads up about that back in the day.
5. You have some very unique eating habits. How do you feel about the corn chowder in the campus dining halls?
Oh my God. The corn chowder is so good. I am obsessed with it. You know when they changed things at Trillium and they switched to add the Indian food? Well I did a little investigating with the Trillium staff and found out that when they added that, they took away certain soups. Since then, I believe they have come back. But during that phase, the corn chowder went away. So there was a little while when every day, I filled out a suggestion card that they bring back the corn chowder. I’ve since found it at Ivy Room so at least they brought it back somewhere.
Is it true that you sometimes eat chicken nuggets when they are still frozen?
Sometimes. I don’t get why people don’t think that’s normal. Sometimes I would heat them up but when I was little I would get really hungry and excited to eat. So I would pop some in the oven and then as a snack have some of the frozen ones on the side. I was really surprised to find that most people don’t do that too.
Do you still eat the frozen ones today?
Every once in a while. One time we were making chicken nuggets and I popped in a couple of frozen ones and my friends were like, ‘what are you doing?’ I think that’s where this all stemmed from. I definitely did that a lot as a kid. I am trying to wean myself off of it though. Suddenly I am learning that eating frozen meat isn’t good for you.
6. What is your biggest fear in life?
Definitely outer space.
Why?
It all started with a trip to the Planetarium when I was about seven years old. I think my babysitter thought it would be a fun thing to do — to go and learn about space. But then someone came on the loud speaker and started talking about how the sun was going to blow up in billions of years and my babysitter looked over at me and I was freaking out. Ever since that it has been a really scary concept. I took Physics of the Heavens and the Earth my freshman year, which wasn’t really the best choice because half of it is about space. I had to hide and cover my ears when I was in the class. I don’t normally do stuff like that, but this was scary. I can’t watch that movie Apollo. I will not be seeing it. I am definitely petrified of space.
7. Many of your friends have commented on your unique hair. Is that your natural hair color?
Well … OK. There was a traumatizing story from freshmen year. Botte and I went on spring break together to San Diego. It was after my first Ithaca winter so I got really pale and my hair got really dark. So I thought why not put the whole of Sun-in in my head. When we came back to school, people were like, “Oh, did you dye your hair?” I thought they meant it as a compliment, but then I started looking at it more closely and it was bright orange, so I won’t be using Sun-in anymore.
Describe what you and some of your friends refer to as “spikeys.”
Another freshmen-year hair trauma was that I straightened my hair a lot freshmen year, so the top of my hair broke off a little bit. Spikeys would refer to the pictures of me where the top part is just kind of a stick-up spike. I’ve been working really hard since then to grow it out.
8. Who is Ronaldo?
Ronaldo was a grad student who a friend and I met one night in Collegetown. It was really snowy out so she suggested that Ronaldo and I do the salsa in the street. So we just started dancing and he was pretty legit — way more legit than I was. That was my first salsa experience in the streets.
Have there been more since then?
No, but we have run into Ronaldo a few times since then and we reminisce about the good times.
9. Would you say that you have a very intense course load?
I personally think that it is my job as a student to take classes that I am interested in and the ones I think I’ll do well in. Maybe engineers don’t think that I have an intense course load, but I think that if I am engaged in class, then it is an intense enough course load. Some of the classes that I have loved the most have been Intro to Television, Psychology of Entertainment Media and Media Communication. I’m taking a seminar on baseball this semester. I try to take as many classes that I can that focus on television, entertainment or pop culture.
That makes sense since you love the Today Show, correct?
I love the Today Show. I am a huge fan. I interned there this past summer.
Is that what you would like to do after you graduate?
I would love to do something in either news or entertainment after I graduate. I loved that internship.
Have you had any prior experience on TV?
Actually, yes—sort of. When I was eight, I basically went to a casting audition for commercials. I got up in front of a small room of people and they asked me questions like, “what grade are you in?” and “what’s your favorite color?” I just froze and stood there staring at everyone and basically ran back to my seat. When I was in the car on the way home with my dad, we called my mom on the old school car phone and she asked me how I did. I said, “I made a fool out of myself, a BIG one!” So that was the end of my career as a childhood star, which is funny considering that now I want to go into TV production or reporting.
10. Which other Cornell team do you like to hang out with the most?
For lack of creativity, I am a big fan of all Cornell teams and feel like it is fun to meet as many athletes — preferably single and male — as I can.
Original Author: Katie Schubauer