What’s astounding about Oles is that they have the ability to take on not just academics and on-campus social activities but also to take their talents and skills to the global level. At St. Olaf, the course load is ridiculous, and trying to juggle outside activities is just another huge lump on the shoulder. However, that’s not the concern for our fellow Ole, Elena Miller, a junior biology student.
Miller is currently a USSF grade seven soccer official, which means she can referee youth to adults (both men and women) as an AR and center official. She has been refereeing since 2008 after she decided to stop playing competitive club soccer. For Miller, this summer job was a chance for her to be around her favorite sport and also make a little bit of money. She admits that even though she does not play on the St. Olaf varsity soccer team, she still loves the sport and enthusiastically plays on the intramural team, the Spartan Kitties.
Miller’s accomplishments don’t end there; she has been selected to attend US Youth Regionals for the past two years from the State of Minnesota. This past summer, she was selected as an assistant referee to represent Region II (Midwest Region) at the US Youth Soccer National Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina. For her, this was a huge honor because compared to the 216 other referees in her region, she was a young referee, and it was only her second year at Regionals. Some perks of this experience were that she had the privilege of getting mentored by FIFA referees, watched by USSF Inspectors and current/former MLS referees and national assessors.
Not only is Miller an unbeatable athlete and a coach, but she is also a theatre lover. She has acted in numerous school productions, summer camps and even landed a role in “Arabian Nights” during her freshman year at St. Olaf.
As for Miller’s future goals in life, she is very determined to pursue a career in medicine, and she is especially interested in the fields of neuroscience and surgery. However, she is planning on taking a year off after graduation and travel to her birth country, Peru, before she heads to medical school.
Through her amazing experience as a referee for many high level games, she has not ruled out the idea of pursuing her FIFA badge. She believes that with hard work, she would be capable of making it all way to the top, and someday she hopes to officiate in the Women’s World Cup and the Olympics.
Her advice for her fellow Oles is: “Sleep more + study hard = Smile more often!”