Ashley O’Connor ’14

Year: 2014

College: Davenport

Major: History of Science/History of Medicine

Hometown: New Milford, CT

Favorite Study Spot: Starr in Sterling

Movie: Goodwill Hunting

TV Show: Gossip Girl

Favorite Class: History of Epidemics with Frank Snowden

Favorite Food: Pineapple or cheese fries

Guilty Pleasure: Zeta

HC: How and when did you start gymnastics?

AO: My mom enrolled me when I was 3 because she was gymnast too.  I was always bouncing around the house so she figured I’d be good at it.  I started competing when I was 8 and my coaches put me in a really intense training program right away.

HC: What is it like going into your final home meet, as a senior, this Saturday?

AO: I can’t believe I’m already a senior.  It’s crazy how fast four years goes by and I’m getting super nostalgic especially because this is the last time I’ll be competing at Yale.  Overall I’m really excited to represent Yale at home one last time and my goal is to have some personal high scores!

HC: What has it been like being captain?

AO: I love being captain.  I live for motivating my team.  It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be but it is a great challenge and I have learned so much this year from it.  I enjoy being able to figure out how each girl on the team trains and competes and then putting it all together to create a really unified and motivated team attitude.

HC: What will you miss the most about Gymnastics?

AO: I will miss being able to do bars because it’s so much fun for me.  Competing and performing is also so exciting, and it’s not something I can really replicate in any other activity so I’ll miss that.

HC: What do you hope to do after graduating this year?

AO: I want to do public health research at a hospital for a year or two and then go back to school for a dual MPH/MBA degree.

HC: What is your favorite part about Yale?

AO: I love that there are so many amazing and fun people here.  I feel like Yale is a place where you’re constantly meeting the greatest people and it helps you try to improve yourself as well.  I’ve met my best friends here and I’m going to miss the community so much!