Hillary Topazian is a senior on the women's cross country and track teams. Below is a brief interview with Hillary.
Q: What is your major?
A: Biology with an econ minor.
Q: What (if any) plans do you have after graduation?
A: Great question! I want to learn how to do something I’ve never done before. Community development work is something that I’ve been especially interested in; I feel like it would be a great way to use both biology and econ. I’d love to learn about how to grow crops in different types of environments or how to improve water quality. I also love animals and being outside.
Q: Why did you choose to attend Wheaton and run cross country?
A: My visit to Wheaton was great. I got lost in the BGC museum when I was trying to find an OT class to visit, but I still came! I went to public school so I was excited to study with other Christians and take a huge range of classes because of the liberal arts requirements. I hadn’t initially planned on running here but I talked with Coach Bradley after senior year of track and decided I’d love to keep running competitively in college. I’ve never regretted asking him if I could join cross country, and I’ve come to appreciate the longer college race a lot more than the 4k in high school.
Q: What do you enjoy most about Wheaton?
A: The cross country team, naturally. I also love the pumpkin pie ice cream!
Q: What is your favorite cross country memory so far in your time at Wheaton?
A: My favorite memory is finally finishing all 12 of my donuts in the Dunkin Donut Challenge last year. I have never felt a greater sense of accomplishment. My least favorite memory is the two failure years before when I felt sick and un-accomplished the entire night.
Q: What has it been like to compete with your sister here at Wheaton?
A: I love running with Rach. We have run cross country and track together since middle school, and after being super competitive for a while, we’ve each found our different strengths. It’s nice to have someone from your family around who understands the different parts of your life. Even though sometimes we accidentally wear matching clothes to practice, which is embarrassing.
