Glover to continue hockey career at Harvard

This past summer, Kate Glover, junior, committed to Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

“It was pretty surreal at first,” Glover said. “It still hasn’t really sunk in. It’s still two years away, but it’s pretty exciting.”

Glover has made a habit of surrounding herself with top athletes. Members of Glover’s club team, the Minnesota Jr. Whitecaps, are committed to other Division I programs, such as Penn State, Ohio State, and the University of Minnesota. Hopkins hockey alumnus, Corbin Boyd, class of 2015, currently plays at Mankato State.

“[Boyd] went through the same process as I did, so whenever I had any questions about the recruiting process, I would always ask her,” Glover said.

Although Glover is known for her hockey accomplishments, she was also an accomplished swimmer, until she quit during her sophomore year. Glover was placed on the Varsity girls swim team as a seventh grader and competed against older swimmers in the 500 meter freestyle. Nonetheless, she often placed first in her races.

“What I got out of swimming [and hockey] at the high level were the friendships and the team aspects of it,” Glover said. “Being around people all the time who had the same motivations and same ambitions as me was the biggest thing.”

Former girls hockey head coach Vin Paolucci believes Glover has talent as well as drive.

“[Glover is] a very hard worker, committed to being a good athlete, and a very intelligent hockey player,” Paolucci said. “She has very good hands, very good eyes, she’s a great passer, and has a very good hockey I.Q. When you put that all together, you’ve got a pretty good player.”

Although Paolucci saw potential in Glover as a young athlete, he still feels that in order to play at the Division I level, Glover will need to work on other skills.

“The thing about Division I hockey is that it’s so much faster. Everything happens a lot quicker, so she’s got to work on the things her college coach wants,” Paolucci said.

Entering an Ivy League program has an added academic pressure. According to the Princeton Review, students accepted to Harvard maintain an average of a 4.3 GPA and at least a 32 on their ACT, along with taking rigorous courses.

This semester alone, Glover is enrolled in two Advanced Placement classes, two honors classes, and one College in the Schools language course.

“There’s a little bit of a sense of, I already have my college figured out,” Glover said. “But at the same time, if I’m going to a place like Harvard, I definitely have to keep my grades up. School is always before hockey.”