Striving to become a Division I athlete seems close to impossible for many, but not for Urbana Hawks very own Casey Ballow. Junior Soccer player Ballow recently reached that high goal when committing to play soccer at Penn State University, thus fulfilling her childhood dream.

Ballow has been playing soccer since she was 5 years old, and has fallen more in love with the game as time has gone on. Continuing to play for “the people that have supported me throughout my life” is one of the many reasons she wanted to take her skills to the next level, she said.

Although many other Division I schools showed interest in Ballow, she knew Penn State was the school for her. “I’m really familiar with the school because my sister goes there, and it is in the big ten conference,” she said.

“Although Penn State’s level of play and competition is extremely high, I am very excited to be a part of it and to have new beginnings,” she said. It will be very challenging, but Ballow yearns to win a Big 10 championship at least one of the four years that she attends Penn State University.

Ballow realizes that it is close to impossible to play in the World Cup, but she has already beaten the odds once by going Division I. She hopes that one day she is capable of playing in the women’s World Cup.