April 14, 2009
Mary Kate Smith, a freshman from Tampa, Fla., comes to The Farm after a successful career at Chamberlain High School. During her prep career, Mary Kate led her team to four consecutive district championships, four consecutive regional championships and helped the squad to the Florida State Final Four three times. With her club team, the Gold Coast Hurricanes, she won the 2008 18-Gold National Championship. Plagued by injury early in her Stanford career, Mary Kate has yet to make her collegiate debut.
Tell us about your career interests.
As far as my career goes, I've known for a while that I want to become a doctor. It wasn't until just recently though that I've become very set on becoming a surgeon, and if all goes as planned, my main goal is neurosurgery. This sounds pretty nerdy, but there is just something about the brain that fascinates me! Its complexity really draws me in and I also hope that sometime during my career I can devote a good amount of time to brain cancer research.
Describe where you're from. What do you miss most about it? What is the biggest difference between California and Florida?
Well most people don't know this but originally I'm from Chicago, Illinois. Both my parents grew up there and the majority of my family still lives there. Apparently though, according to some of my teammates, I say `Chicago,' `hockey,' and `Mom' with a funny accent and this is the only way they know I'm actually telling the truth, considering other than that I'm such a Florida girl. Being from Tampa, the one thing I miss the most is the beach. Each summer I spend a good amount of my time there and usually work up a pretty nice tan, as opposed to being as white as a ghost like I am now! I'd have to say the biggest difference between Cali and Florida would definitely have to be the weather. Needless to say I've gotten pretty used to the cool 70's and 0% humidity, as opposed to the high 90's and 100% humidity on any given day in Florida, even Christmas.
Describe something you're NOT good at.
I am absolutely, 100%, not good at anything relating to or revolving around common sense. Ask any one of my teammates and I can guarantee they will tell you that even though I just dyed my hair brown, I am still a true blonde at heart. The best example of this would probably have to be an instance that took place my senior year of high school during softball season. We were playing a game at home and I, of course, asked one of my teammates whether we were home or visitors. Needless to say I haven't made that mistake since coming to Stanford, there's no way I would ever live that one down!
Is there anything that you're "addicted to" or spend a lot of time doing?
I would definitely have to say that I am addicted to make-up. If I had to guess as to why I got hooked on it, I would probably say because I wasn't allowed to wear it until high school, while all my friends had already been wearing it for a couple of years. I'd have to admit, when it comes to creativity I'm pretty lacking in that department (I can't draw or paint to save my life). But with make-up, I can be one of the creative kids for once in my life!
Do you have any hidden talents?
A hidden talent that has definitely paid off since coming to college would have to be my ability to play pool. We have a pool table in the lounge of my dorm and as often as I can I like to play a round or two. I never played when I was younger, in fact I only started playing since coming to college, but since the start of the year I can say I've beaten a fair amount of the boys in my dorm.