By Nina Bjurlin

Alena Luciani, Class of 2009, recently made headlines after becoming Canada's first and only full-time female college football coach. Read the story here.

Please tell us a little bit about your early life.

I was born in Oakville, Ontario, Canada on April 2, 1990, and I was definitely lucky with the family I was born into. The youngest of three, I have two big brothers whom I admire very much, and a pretty wicked mom and dad. I grew up in a household filled with lots of Italian food and football, so I had no choice but to be an athlete, a well-fed one at that! I was lucky enough to follow in my brothers' footsteps to Berkshire, then to Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, ON to play basketball and lacrosse for five years.

Could you talk a little bit about how you came to Berkshire as a student?

My time at Berkshire was one of the greatest years of my life, and that still holds true to this day. The campus and the people are unforgettable – something I am so grateful for having experienced. I had graduated high school in Oakville, and decided that I wanted to go to Berkshire to play basketball. I had no idea what to expect ... I was so nervous. I still remember going into registration almost in tears. I was in a different country, I didn't know anyone and I was going to be there for a whole year. I thought to myself, "What have I gotten myself into!?" It didn't take long to feel at home when I was introduced to my first friend, Nicky Picotte, who immediately made me feel included. Soon after, I met Matt Sewell, a fellow Canadian who was actually coached in football by my dad just the year before. And then it hit me; I was going to like it here. I am happy to say I am still very close with my friends from Berkshire, with group chats, yearly reunions and countless phone calls – they are really never too far away.

Who were the people you feel really helped you at Berkshire?

When it comes to the faculty, I cannot say enough great things about them all. From coaches to teachers to house parents, I would literally have to name every faculty member because every one played a huge role in my time at Berkshire. They taught me lessons I will never forget and made Berkshire feel like a home – for that, I will be forever grateful.

The campus itself is amazing – I chose to wake up every morning in the spring before classes to run around campus just to enjoy the scenery, as I knew my days remaining were limited. The best feeling in the world is pulling into the campus and driving along the road up to the heart of campus, I get goose-bumps just thinking about it now. I packed my time at Berkshire and got involved with every possible thing, my favorite experiences being each sport season. Soccer, basketball and lacrosse were my three, and I enjoyed each game and teammates that came along with it. Being one of the captains of the basketball team with Ali Appel and Whit Mackay was something that meant so much to me; to be able to be a leader on that team was a great responsibility that I took on with pride and taught me lessons I still use to this day.

So, what are you up to these days?

I am now the head strength and conditioning coach for the varsity program at Wilfrid Laurier University where I have been for the past two years. I always enjoyed the training aspect of being an athlete, and in my third year of university I got my first taste of being on the coaching side of things. I fell in love with helping other athletes achieve their goals and decided to direct my focus to strength and conditioning. I graduated from WLU with a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology and continued my education by becoming a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialists with the National Strength & Conditioning Association. I love this field of work because it constantly challenges me to continuing learning and allows me to aid in the success of the athletes at WLU.

Do you have any advice to share?

My advice to current students is to enjoy every moment. Enjoy the two hours of study hall with no internet, enjoy the road trips to away games, enjoy the dress code, enjoy the food at the dining hall and Rueben's smiling face when you put your cutlery in the right slot – ENJOY EVERY MOMENT. Because before you know it, it's going to be time for college and you're going to miss your internet being cut off from 8-10 p.m. every night, and you're going to miss meeting with your advisor every week, so soak up every bit of it. I could go on for days about how much Berkshire, the place and the people mean to me. I still remember the pit in my stomach and the piece of my heart that went missing the day I pulled out of the campus and drove away. Berkshire, you will always have that piece of my heart.

Go Bears!