Name: Kamali Thompson

Year: Senior

School: College of Science and Technology

Major: Biology

Home town: Teaneck, N.J.

Why I chose Temple: "I definitely wanted to go to a school in a city. Second, I liked the campus. Temple is big, but I didn't feel lost. I got accepted into the Honors Program, and I felt that graduating with honors would make me look stronger academically. I also was recruited for the Fencing team, and our coaches really put the emphasis on academics. I knew that head coach, Dr. Nikki Franke, was going to work with me and make me a better fencer. I just had a feeling of being at home here."

Transformative experience: "When you fence before college, you're fencing individually. Now I'm part of a team and fencing for a school. It gives you a sense of pride. Being captain has contributed a lot to my personal development. It has been great getting to know everyone on the team and trying to be a leader, a friend and an adviser. I want to go to medical school, and I think being a student-athlete has given me skills that I can use. It also helps me be more organized. I'm either practicing or competing or training up to 40 hours a week — it's a full-time job. It's not easy balancing school and fencing, but I'm actually less productive when I'm not fencing Student-athletes know how to handle that balance better than most students. I think that has prepared me for medical school."