I am from Quebec, Canada, and will be the first in my family to earn a college degree. My dedication to both athletics and academics earned me a full athletic scholarship for track and field at a Division 1 college in the U.S.

As a high school student I thought my path to college and the NCAA would be through softball. I was on the province of Quebec’s team and would compete all over Canada and in the US. But before graduating, I decided to try cross-country—and to my surprise, I did really well, placing 3rd at Regionals. That’s when I discovered my passion for running. There’s something almost therapeutic about going for a run and letting my mind wander. And on race day, the competitive fire inside me comes alive, which makes the experience even more fun.

I started my NCAA journey at the University of Virginia, but the athletics program and community weren’t the right fit. Luckily, I had a friend on the University of Utah track team who told me she absolutely loved it and encouraged me to check it out. I reached out to the U of U women’s track coach, visited campus, and within a week I had committed. Meeting the coaches and the team, and seeing the University of Utah firsthand, confirmed it was the perfect place for me.

Though I began as a pre-med student, my experience with the track team at the U of U has shifted my interests. I fell in love with college athletics and the people who make an athlete’s journey possible. I’ve since been accepted to the University of Texas to pursue a Master’s in Higher Education, Leadership, and Policy. After my master’s degree, I aspire to work in college athletics administration!

I must say that even though my career plans have changed, I would still choose to do a Biology degree! It’s been a wonderful, challenging, and rewarding experience! I love anatomy and physiology, which is why I chose this emphasis. I also thoroughly enjoyed my lab experiences—from biology and chemistry to anatomy and physics, where I could see real world applications for the material I was learning in class. With all the academic support offered by the U of U athletics program, I’ve maintained a high GPA and even managed to engage in research through UROP.

I’m a native French speaker. After 4 years of immersion in an English speaking country, I still can’t figure out how to speak the “th” in words or the “h” at the beginning of words. Americans LOVE the accent, so don’t try to change it too much, it makes you look exotic!

–Veronic Boire, a senior from the province of Quebec, Canada, is a member of the women’s cross country team and is majoring in biology with an emphasis in anatomy and physiology.

By: Tanya Vickers, Communications, School of Biological Sciences

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