"Bowdoin offers an awesome balance," explains Alison Smith '05, a psychology major from Stockton Springs, Maine. "You get to play highly competitive athletics, but you don't have to compromise on academics."

Alison has been a starter on Bowdoin's five-time NESCAC Championship-winning women's basketball team, including the storybook 2003-04 squad that went 30-1, losing only in the NCAA Division III Championship Game. A defensive stalwart, Alison never got the "big" numbers, but was chosen as the school's Society of Bowdoin Women Award winner in 2005, exemplifying outstanding leadership and commitment to team play.

This dedicated student-athlete epitomized Bowdoin's get-involved philosophy during one memorable week last year: She successfully juggled basketball practice with play rehearsals (she acted in the Vagina Monologues) along with mid-term exams. The team went on to win the NESCAC Championship, the play was a smash hit, and Alison academic performance earned her NESCAC All-Academic honors.

Alison credits coach Stefanie Pemper with her ability to be committed to something while maintaining a broader perspective. "She's a great communicator, a real motivator and a good friend."

Coach Pemper returns the compliment: "From the minute Alison stepped into our program, she has been respected and adored by her teammates. Alison is that unique person - altogether self-sufficient, generous of spirit and inclusive. A very special young woman."

Alison's discipline and perspective should prove valuable when she tackles her next challenge after Bowdoin: earning a graduate degree in clinical psychology.