5 questions with…junior soccer standout, Theta Tau president Kimberly Chen

Junior Kimberly Chen’s two goals in the women’s soccer team’s Oct. 2 match against Allegheny College helped solidify the team’s lead and eventual 3-0 win. And her performance in that game also helped earn her recognition as one of two Spartan Club Athletes of the Week. At the outset of the season, Chen wanted to improve her goal count over her first two years on the women’s soccer team, having scored three times in each prior season. Now with six games still to go this fall, Chen, a forward, already has four goals. She ranks second on the team in goals, assists (two) and points (12). She’ll look to add to those totals this weekend during the 6-5 team’s two home games at DiSanto Field: tonight against first-ranked Washington University in St. Louis at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 14, at 7:30 p.m. against the University of Chicago.

Coming to CWRU

When Chen started playing soccer in third grade, she admits it was just something her parents signed her up for. But the sport fueled her competitive nature and drove her to continuously push to improve. She appreciated how active and strong soccer required her to be, and that, while it can be hard to stand out on the soccer field, she did. Chen, who is originally from California, decided to come to Case Western Reserve after visiting for a recruiting camp. She was impressed by the university’s academic reputation and the team’s competitiveness. “I really enjoyed the environment and I could see myself in it,” she said.

Off the field

In school, Chen knew her strengths were in math and science, and majoring in chemical engineering seemed to be a good fit—especially with its challenging nature and natural need for problem-solving. After graduating, Chen hopes to work in industry and eventually become a project manager to flex her organizational skills. She’s already a leader among engineering students at Case Western Reserve as president of Theta Tau, the professional engineering fraternity. In addition to events for those within the chapter, the fraternity is involved with Habitat for Humanity to volunteer and give their time. She hopes that through the president’s role, she will have the chance to affect positive change on the organization. You can watch Chen and the rest of the women’s soccer team in action during two games this weekend. (View the team’s schedule to get the details.) Before you do, make sure to check out Chen’s answers to this week’s five questions. 1. What’s your favorite poem or poet? I like Maya Angelou. I read one of her books and the language she uses is very vivid. I can picture things easily. 2. Do you prefer e-readers or actual books? Actual books. I’ve never used e-readers. 3. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? The best advice is to take advantage of the opportunities given because you may never get the opportunity again. There’s always that “what if” question and it’s better to try it than never know. 4. If you were to become famous for something, for what do you think it would be? One would be to be an amazing chef—like, chef [Gordon] Ramsey-famous—so people would always want to come to my restaurants. I would also want to be an amazing soccer player on the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team—like Carli Lloyd—because I always look up to them. 5. What’s your favorite thing about Case Western Reserve? People are very open and willing to learn new things, always wanting to make new friends and not judging others.