Goal Driven and Research Focused: How Vanessa Frelih Balances Life as a Soccer Player and Researcher

As captain of Harvard Women's Soccer, Vanessa Frelih established team culture and exemplified leadership. As a neuroscience concentrator and author of a thesis, she meaningfully contributed to the scientific community in advancing human understanding. Reflecting back on the past four years, she attributes her ability to excel in both the classroom and on the pitch to the rigorous focus that Harvard requires.

Applying prior research in a novel format, Vanessa and her team aim to understand different catalysts responsible for the decline of cognitive flexibility with age. Cognitive flexibility is an essential executive function, which allows the brain to adjust behavior and thought processes within changing environments. Using dopamine as a proxy for learning due to the extensively researched connection between dopamine and reward-learning, Vanessa records dopamine photometry data from a cohort of 21 mice. The majority of her work in the lab was accomplished throughout the summer; now Vanessa is focused on finishing her thesis prior to graduation.

Vanessa attributes her success on and off the pitch to a differentiation of mindset between her academic and athletic endeavors. “I think what's nice about them being such distinct spaces is that it gives you room to have  a completely different mindset and a completely different approach to what you're doing and allows you to separate all these different components of your life and your schedule.” While seeing both spaces as separate, she believes her work ethic and determination as a soccer player have translated to a will to succeed in the classroom. “I think the way that Harvard functions is just so amazing in allowing student-athletes to find success in both the classroom and also on the field… That's been a transformative experience in itself, and something that I didn't even realize was possible until I got here."