Freshman Kemesha Woodfine will spend her Thanksgiving break in an unexpected place this year: Trinidad and Tobago.

A stand-out star on Quinnipiac's soccer team and member of the Jamaican national team, Woodfine will travel to Trinidad and Tobago to play in a qualifying round of the World Cup tournament. She holds dual American and Jamaican citizenship.

The game brought Woodfine to Quinnipiac. Wooed and promised generous scholarships by a number of schools, she says none of them matched the spirit she found at Quinnipiac.

"I judged them based on how the coaches treated me," she explains. "The Quinnipiac coach stood out. He doesn't just care about me as an athlete, but as a student-athlete and a person. At every practice our coach stresses that you need to apply yourself, not just athletically, but across all areas of your life."

Woodfine graduated from the Baylor School, a private boarding academy in Chattanooga, Tenn., where she was a top soccer player and All-American nominee. Her family left Jamaica when she was nine. In her Jamaican schools, Woodfine's athletic prowess set her apart, and an early coach urged her to take soccer seriously.

A student in the School of Health Sciences, Woodfine plans to study nursing. Medicine intrigues her. An asthma patient herself, she has empathy for others coping with chronic conditions. "I'm amazed by the human body," she says.

She also applied to Rider University, Campbell University, the University of South Carolina Upstate and the University of Connecticut. She couldn't be more pleased with her choice. The combination of a rigorous soccer program, an outstanding health sciences school and a campus that's embraced her make Quinnipiac feel like home.

"I make new friends every day," she says. "It's a very welcoming place."

Woodfine joined the Black Student Union and hopes to have more time to devote to the organization during the soccer off-season. "Maybe next year I'll run for office," she says.

Woodfine hopes to play professional soccer and then segue into a nursing career. She expects her sports background to be a huge asset.

"It's going to help me in the business world because I'm used to working with people and collaborating. It's not always about me," she says. "I'm a team-player. I know how to be part of something that's bigger than myself."