As Captain of Gustavus Women’s Hockey Team, Senior Amelia Vosen is ready for the final moments in her last semester at Gustavus. She is a Management major from Newton, Minnesota.
One of the main reasons why chose to attend college at Gustavus was because of the strong athletics program. She looked forward attending a school with such a welcoming community and smaller class sizes. She was excited to be part of the hockey team that has such a successful history and really admires its competitive level.
The team was a great fit for her, and she has proven to be a valuable asset to the team as well.
“All of my friends who are close are from the hockey team. We start hockey the second week we come here, so we get to introduce ourselves and get closer. With our team, we form an incredible bond…and some girls are even your classmates. There’s a great relationship between girls from all grades, so that’s really unique about us. A lot of the seniors are really close with the freshman, so just that intertwining between the grades is really cool,” Vosen said.
When first coming into the program as a high school senior, she had to grow comfortable on the ice with the speed of the game, which improved her confidence as a player and ability to create plays.

“Being able to share my experience with the girls who are just coming into it…I know it’s definitely a hard transition for a lot of girls, so giving that mentorship to the younger ones is really important to me.”

As a first-year, it was difficult to know what to expect, but with four years under her belt now, she’s been able to build up her skillset from year to year.
“Being able to share my experience with the girls who are just coming into it…I know it’s definitely a hard transition for a lot of girls, so giving that mentorship to the younger ones is really important to me. I know that it can be a hard transition and I want to make it easier for them to be able to play hockey, and not have to worry about other things that might get in the way. I think one thing I could possibly still improve on is being more vocal. It’s great to lead by example, but sometimes you need to speak up when you need to, and that will be really important going into our last game for the playoffs in the MIAC,” Vosen said.
“It’s been surreal to be able to win the conference title like we did this season. We actually won it my first year and sophomore year, too. Being able to go to Nationals my first year and going all the way to the Frozen 4, was an experience that I never thought would happen,” Vosen said.
“Having that past experience has definitely been influential in propelling me to want to do it again in the future, hopefully by winning this upcoming game on Saturday, and getting to Nationals or as far as we can go. Being able to walk everywhere and not having to take transportation as well as knowing professors by name, and them giving us verbal support as athletes sets Gustavus apart from other schools,” Vosen said.
As a student-athlete, Vosen must maintain a balanced schedule. “With hockey, you have to realize that you’re going to have to take our two to three hours per day for that, and it’s important to do your homework in advance or realize that you may have to stay up later than expected to finish assignments,” Vosen said.
She believes it’s important to prioritize your commitments and have a set schedule to follow to balance athletics and academics. She credits her coaches for instilling the value of academic excellence in her.

“I definitely couldn’t make it through my four years of college without some of the close friends that I have today”

“I decided to become a Management major after I took a few Accounting classes and realized that it wasn’t for me. Going through a Management major, I saw that it was so broad, so I wanted to emphasize a Marketing side, so I’ve been taking a lot of classes like that. After graduating, I hope to go into something along the lines of digital marketing,” Vosen said.
As for advice she has for younger students and athletes, Vosen encourages them to put energy into their personal relationships, especially with teammates.
“Definitely become close with your teammates, and find people who are even outside of your sport or become close with because in the end. Being close with those friends will ultimately help you throughout your 4 years of college here. I definitely couldn’t make it through my four years of college without some of the close friends that I have today,” Vosen said.