Senior Week Spotlight: Havana McElvaine
October 28, 2016 | Women's Soccer
This week, we celebrate the 2016 senior class for the Washington women's soccer team, leading up to senior day on Sunday October 30th against Oregon State at Husky Soccer Stadium. Our final senior we're honoring this week has been a staple of the Husky back line since arriving in 2013. Havana McElvaine joined the program from Denver, Colo. where she was named an NSCAA All-American her senior year. Starting in 19 games for the Dawgs her first year on campus, she was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team after scoring her first career goal on a game-winner against Utah and her second against Arizona earlier that season. A two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention, she owns eight career assists in 77 played matches, starting in 70 of them. One of this year's team captains, McElvaine will graduate with a major in Sociology and intends to apply for a traveling fellowship with UW, before pursuing a master's degree or attending law school.
What has been your favorite moment while here at UW, both on and off the field?
"My favorite soccer moment was during my sophomore year when we made it to the Sweet 16. We played Missouri and Kimby scored a goal and we all dogpiled on Stanford's field. My favorite off the field moment would be from either my freshman or sophomore year when we were at the Windermere Cup and the women's crew team beat Great Britain, and I just remember being with all my teammates and all thinking how cool that moment was just to watch them win. Being at that event and feeling the history of this place and all of the people who support it, it was really cool to be there."
As a senior, what advice would you give to a freshman?
"It's such a cliché piece of advice but mine would be to branch out and really take it upon yourself to learn more about all of the things that this place has to offer. Being at a school that is so big and being a part of an athletic department that is so awesome and has so many resources, you forget that there are so many other things on campus to get involved in. So my biggest piece of advice would be to challenge yourself to go try new things, go and join a new club or take a new class."
What's your plan after graduation?
"I'd really like to go travel, I'm applying for a traveling fellowship through the UDUB and I'd love to be on my own and out of my comfort zone for a while and go somewhere new. Eventually though I'd really want to go to graduate school, either a master's in public administration or possibly law school."
What will you miss the most about UW and being with the soccer program?
"This team for sure. I can't think of any other experience in my life that has been like this one with this group of people and how much time we spend together and what we've gone through. I definitely will miss seeing these people and being around them every day."
What would one major takeaway from your experience here be?
"I would say one major takeaway for me is how important relationships are and how much better life can be when you have relationships and people in your life that genuinely want you to be better. Being in an environment where those relationships can be honest and authentic I think is really important. I feel really lucky to have been at a place like UDUB where my relationship with my coaches, professors and teammates have been relationships that have not always been easy and not always been the most fun but I feel like, looking back at the person I was when I came here, I was so different because of the people that I came into contact with."
