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Harvard's Devon Maclaughlin Featured on GoCrimson.com
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Harvard University senior Devon MacLaughlin (Agoura Hills, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) was one of the leaders of this years women's water polo team that qualified for the Eastern Championship for the first time since 2007. Aside from her leadership, also contributed in the pool scoring a goal against Bucknell University that led the Crimson to a 9-8 victory for seventh-place at the Eastern Championships.
She recently talked with GoCrimson.com about her plans for the future and her inspirations in water polo.
What is your area of
concentration at Harvard?
Government.
How has it prepared for life when you
graduate?
I'm not quite sure yet, but hopefully it will be useful if I
decide to go to law school in the next couple years.
How have your studies helped you athletically? How have
athletics helped you academically?
Athletics have helped me manage my time. I'm always much more
efficient in season. Academics have helped me center my thinking in
sports more. I think all my study of political theory has actually
made me better at visualization and thinking strategically because
they require using imagination to better understand things and you
are able to find weaknesses in the argument and the opponent.
What is the best cereal ever created?
Raisin Bran.
What has been you most memorable moment competing for
Harvard?
Beating Brown in their pool at Eastern Championships my freshman
year.
How old were you when you started playing water polo?
I was 12 - I played on a coed team because there weren't enough
girls playing at that time to have an all-girls team.
Were you ever involved in any other sports?
I played soccer in middle school until I broke my leg tripping
over the ball. I stuck with water sports after that. I swam on the
high school swim team to stay in shape for water polo season.
Did you ever learn to play any other musical
instruments?
I played the viola in middle school and part of high school until
one of the school orchestra concerts conflicted with an
international tournament in Canada. The orchestra teacher said he
would fail me if I missed the concert, so I couldn't compete in the
tournament. I quit after that year.
If you could compete in any sport (out of the water of
course) at Harvard, which would it be?
I would kind of like to try crew, although I don't know how I
would feel about all those morning practices.
Lyrically, is there any song out there right now that just
blows you away every time you hear it?
"Closing Time," by Semisonic
What do you enjoy doing most in your spare time away from
the books and the pool?
I love reading on the beach (this really only works out well when
I go home though).
Who is or was your mentor in water polo? What has this
person meant you?
My club coach, Rich Corso, was the one who really got me into the
sport and really watched over me throughout my entire time playing.
He let me train with his boys' team because the girls' team wasn't
very good. He was a tough man to play for, but everyone who played
for him came away knowing pretty much everything there is to know
about water polo.
Also, right now I really look up to our assistant coach, Ellen
Estes Lee. She's a two-time Olympian and just finishing up
Harvard Business School. She's incredibly smart, a great player,
and a great person. Harvard water polo has been really lucky to
have her these last two years, and I would love to be more like
her.
Besides English, can you speak any other language?
I am fluent in French and in my second year of learning Czech.
Finish this sentence, "If I had a million dollars
I'd..."
Travel all over the world.
So you've been saving up money for years for your dream
sailing dinghy. It's big enough to house two comfortably and small
enough to man out at sea. You have bought enough supplies and have
enough money to travel around the world for a year (and of course
you have the skills to survive at sea). Who would you take and what
sites would see on your excursion?
I would take my former teammate and close friend Laura
Stoppel. We have really similar tastes in what we like to do
and see, so we would have a great time together. I know both of us
would love to see New Zealand and Australia so we could do some
scuba diving (although I would need to get certified first). I
think we would also definitely visit the Mediterranean Sea and
visit some cute ports throughout Europe (especially Italy and
Greece). I would also like to go around Africa, and up around
India, over to Thailand, Japan, and China. Actually, I'm going to
aim high and say I'd just like to go around all the continents so I
could see everything.
What is your favorite state and why?
California, obviously. It has beautiful beaches, its warm and
sunny, so you can be outside all year round, but you can also get
away to Tahoe or Big Bear for hiking and skiing.
If you could spend a day in anyone else's shoes, who would it be
and why?
I'd like to replace a deep-cover spy. I would really like to see
how I would handle that kind of situation; plus, it sounds really
glamorous and exciting.
If you can remember that long ago, what was the first children's
novel you read?
The Rainbow Fish. I don't know if you can call it "reading" but I
memorized all the words including where page turns were, so when I
was about 3 I "read" the book to my uncle.
Assuming you have an iPod, what is the No. 2 (your number)
song on your "Top 25 Most Played" Playlist?
"Don't Trust Me" by 3OH!3
Your hometown, Agoura Hills, Calif., is just north of
Malibu; how far have you driven on Highway 1, the Pacific Coast
Highway? What's the best view on the drive in your
opinion?
Well it merges with other highways at some points, but once I took
it back from San Francisco- it took a lot longer, but it was much
prettier. I love the view near Zuma beach - I saw a whale there
once and now every time I drive through there I'm on the
lookout.
What is your favorite holiday?
Thanksgiving. It's a big holiday in my family. Everyone comes over
to our house (we have had up to 30 people for dinner) and my mom
makes everything from scratch. You get great food, great family
time and you don't have the stress of buying presents like at
Christmas.
If you were forced to get a slogan that best represented
your philosophy tattooed on your forehead, what would it
be?
Work hard, play hard.
Release courtesy Harvard Athletic Communications
