Charles Nailen/The Hoya In the Spotlight: Nicole Lee
Sport: Cross Country/Track
Events: Cross Country, 3,000m, 5,000m, 10,000m
Hometown: Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.
High School: Peninsula High School
School/Year: NHS ’05
Major: Health Studies (Pre-Med)
Minor: Psychology
High School Highlights: Earned third place at the 1999 State Cross Country Championship . On the team that won State (2000) and CIF (1999 & 2000) Cross Country Championships . Member of the 2001 High School Record 4 x 1600m Relay Team . Earned All-CIF honors . U.S. Army Varsity Scholar-Athlete Award . National Honor Society . High Honor Roll . California Scholarship Federation . Golden State Exam High Honors . Smith College Book Award recipient . Winner of the Paul’s Science Scholarship Award.
Georgetown Highlights: 2002: Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000m . Placed fourth on the team at the NCAA Cross Country Championships to help the team to a fourth-place national finish . Top Georgetown finisher at the Big East Cross Country Championships, Great American Cross Country Festival and Pre-NCAA Meet . Earned a third-place finish in the 5,000m (16:57.74) at the Big East Indoor Championships . Placed fourth in the 5,000m (17:03.85) at the Big East Indoor Championships . Ran an NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 5,000m at the Navy Lid Lifter Invitational . Timed 17:08.43 in the 5000m for fifth place in the 5000m at the Big East Outdoor Championships . Runner-up in the 10,000m(35:22.56) at the ECAC Championship . Placed 21st at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a time of 35:31.61 . 2001: Finished third in the Olympic Development 10,000m at Penn Relays . Placed fourth at the U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships . Earned All-Conference honors with a 10th place finish at the Big East Cross Country Championships . Placed fourth at the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational and sixth at the Cowboy Jamboree . Finished 11th at the Pre-NCAA Meet.
Achievement you are proudest of: Probably getting into the early assurance for med school here at Georgetown.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? I have always wanted to travel to England. I’ve never been there and it seems like it’d be such a fun place to go and see.
One moment in your life you would want to relive: Probably winning state in cross-country my senior year in high school.
Best way to relax: If I’m at home, definitely going into the Jacuzzi. But at school, watching a movie with friends.
Hardest adjustment you had to make coming to college: Dealing with the cold and the winter. I’m not used to the snow.
Was coming to the East Coast for school a culture shock? Not particularly. It’s more formal here, but it’s mostly the weather that got to me.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would not be as high-stressed. I would relax more.
Farthest you have ever run: Fourteen miles. It took probably about 100 minutes. Every Sunday I do 12 to 13 miles.
How many miles do you run in an average week? Anywhere from 70 to 73 miles.
Biggest sacrifice you have had to make for sports: Having to go to bed early and wake up at the crack of dawn. Sometimes we have to get up at five or six in the morning for a meet.
Biggest obstacle you have had to overcome: Learning how to deal with uncertainties.
If you could have any one superpower, what would it be and why? I would have it so we are at school, but with no class, just to have fun. It would be like the beginning of school when no one has any work.
Favorite place: I love going to the beach and just watching the sunset.
If you could switch lives with anyone for a day, who would it be and why? If I could switch lives with an animal, I’d want to be a cat, so I could just lie out in the sun.
Favorite Georgetown professor: It would definitely be Dr. [Allan] Angerio. I’ve had him for three years in Health Studies – Human Biology, Pharmacology and Pathology and Microbiology. He’s just been a mentor for me and has helped me out and guided me through pre-med and the early assurance program and all of that.
Three things you always keep in your fridge: Yogurt, fruit and turkey meat.
Person who has impacted your life most profoundly: Probably my parents. They’re the ones whom I’ve gotten my values and ideals from and my sense of self.
Least favorite thing about track: Probably the people that hold up the signs of how many laps you have left, and you see that you have 24 more in a 10K.
If your house were on fire, one thing you’d grab on your way out: Probably my photo album or scrapbook.
Movie you could watch 100 times and never get sick of: As Good as it Gets.
Worst movie you have ever seen: Best in Show.
First concert you went to: I went to the “K-Rock Weenie Roast” – it was a bunch of bands like No Doubt, Moby and Ozzy Osbourne. It was really good.
Favorite place to run: Probably on the trails by the zoo.
One quirk your friends give you a hard time about: I study too much.
How did you end up coming to Georgetown? I wanted to go away, see the other side and get a different experience. I wanted to see the change in seasons and get a change in lifestyles because I definitely want to go back to California after school.
Three books on your ideal bookshelf: The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold), The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) and Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Maud Montgomery).
Best road trip you have ever taken: When I drove down to Mexico with my cousin. She’s just like a sister to me, so it was fun being with her. We had fun.
Best thing about being an only child: Probably that you learn how to be independent and do things on your own.
Biggest pet peeve: People who crack their knuckles.
What kind of doctor do you want to be? I want to be a pediatrician. I’ve wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember. I love working with kids and I think to be able to help them would be beneficial. It would be a rewarding experience.
Favorite thing to order from the Tombs: Southwest chicken salad.
Most interesting person you have met: Professor [Myrtle] McCulloch – she’s in Nutrition. She’s met amazing people and traveled to amazing places around the world.
What goes through your head when you are running? Just kind of different things. I think of how I’m feeling and who I need to catch up to. I just get into a zone and don’t even think – it’s just a racing mentality.
If you were to die tomorrow, what would you want your last meal to be? A chicken hummus veggie Pitawich from the Little Cafe, with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
Best thing you know how to cook yourself: Not much. I can make good chocolate chip cookies.
Characteristic you value most in a friend: Honesty.
One piece you would give an incoming freshman: Work hard, play hard.
What is under your bed right now? My track bag.
