This week the Athlete Spotlight is focusing on second-year club soccer player Naomi Kane, rather than a varsity athlete. She has played soccer ever since she can remember and loves spending time with others who share her passion. Kane also is a Chemistry 111 Supplemental Instruction leader where she gets to interact with first-year engineers on a frequent basis. In her free time, she loves to cook, paint and write.

What is your favorite part of being on club soccer? Why?

I love being on this team because it’s a great way to connect with people I wouldn’t otherwise meet. I’ve played soccer my whole life, and it’s nice to share that appreciation for the game with people who care about soccer as much I do.

Do you have any games that you remember being particularly special? Why?

Spring semester last year against BGSU (Bowling Green State University). I took a free kick to the face, which made the experience pretty memorable. Another fun game was our first as a women’s team. We ended up beating CSU (Cleveland State University) 10-0 which was a great start to my time on the team.

Aside from soccer, what else are you involved in on campus? Can you explain what you do in them?

I’m a Chemistry 111 Supplemental Instruction leader, which essentially is me getting to interact with a ton of freshmen engineering students and helping them better understand chemistry as applied to engineering. I also do research in a chemical engineering lab and just started a new project studying the plausibility of repairing enamel using self-assembling peptides.

Why are you majoring in economics and minoring in chemistry? What interests you about it?

It’s a pretty weird combination, but I’ve always been interested in science and math. I don’t think people realize that economics is extremely math-heavy, and I’m always amazed at how an economist can use math and statistics to model and understand human behavior, labor markets, etc. I’m especially interested in studying the inefficiencies of our healthcare system and ways to potentially fix them.

What are your favorite free time activities? Why?

I love to cook, paint and started writing again earlier this year. I tried to get into crocheting too, but that mostly involved me yelling at the yarn when it wouldn’t cooperate.

What is your favorite quote or what inspires you?  

“I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.” (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)