For most CE students the next few weeks will be all about completing homeworks and class projects, studying for finals and preparing for the winter break.  For Courtney Gosewisch there will be all that...plus practicing to get ready to play volleyball on the biggest stage: the NCAA championship, which kicks off this week, and that will crown the national champion at the Final Four in Kansas City on December 18.

Courtney, a civil engineering sophomore from Downers Grove, IL is part of the Purdue women’s volleyball squad that qualified for the 2010 NCAA tournament after a very successful fall season that saw them beat volleyball powerhouse and 3 time national champion Penn State in October, and end up 4th in the Big Ten, the toughest conference in the country. 31 games, 117 sets later the Boilers are ready to take on Kentucky in West Lafayette this coming Friday - December 3 at 7:30 p.m. If successful, the boilers will go on to play a second round game on their home court, before heading to Austin for the next round.

Look for Courtney to play a role in the backcourt as a defensive specialist. "I love being a defense specialist because we control the game" - says Courtney - aka Goose, as she is known on the court -  "You can't run offense without your passers and can't win without defense. We take on a lot of responsibility, but we can determine the tone of the match."

Balancing school and Division I athletics has its challenges and Courtney acknowledges that “it comes down to prioritizing and efficiency” and that she needs to be "very disciplined in time management to give her all academically and athletically."

Courtney will not be the only CE student active in the IAF this coming weekend. Philip Morton, a senior from Carmel, IN and fellow CE student, leads the "Block Party," the loud and dedicated student fan group that supports the women’s squad and follows the team around the conference for the away games.  Widely considered the best fan group in volleyball, the Block Party is known for their loud and personalized cheers. As most visiting teams would recognize, the Block Party can truly impact games by energizing the Purdue players, and unnerving their opponents (check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uLfhHVVlLU to see the Block Party in action).
 
In addition to their passion for volleyball, Courtney and Philip also share a keen interest in their field of study - Civil Engineering. For Philip, who comes from a family of “civils,” and who had a passion for building things since he was a child, it was almost a given that he would pursue a career in civil engineering. When he graduates in May 2011 he will enter the work force, most likely working in the transportation field. Courtney has a few more years ahead to decide on her career path. What she does know is that Civil Engineering is a broad field with plenty of opportunities and the chance to tackle many challenges...something a competitor like her can relate to.