Nicole Thompson Leading on All Fields

En Español

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

A top student in her class, a stalwart on the backline, a volunteer, a team captain and a CSUN graduate; there are many ways to describe CSUN Women's Soccer's senior defender Nicole Thompson.

Thompson has done a little bit of everything during her time at CSUN. Graduating with the highest GPA of any student in the Civil Engineering Department last spring while giving back to the community and being a humble leader, Thompson has mastered the art of time management.

"Nicole definitely leads by example both on and off the field," said senior defender Briana Geffre. "Nicole will stay up to 3 a.m. in order to get work done and she'll come out here at 8 a.m. and still kill it on the soccer field. She works really hard to get both done."

A stellar student, Thompson's 3.82 GPA was the highest of any student in the Civil Engineering Department when she graduated with a bachelor's degree in May. For her efforts, she received an Outstanding Graduate Award in Civil Engineering. Ever the humble student, Thompson initially did not intend to broadcast her achievement to her head coach.

"Without me asking her, I would have never known about her graduating tops in her class," said head coach Keith West. "The only way I was able to find out was when I asked how she did in her final semester. She said 'well, I finished with the highest GPA in my class.' That's just how she is. Nicole is so humble."

Over the past year, she has not only completed her undergraduate studies but she has interned at an engineering firm, completed volunteer work at a women's shelter, participated in a canoe race and helped guide her teammates through workouts to prepare for the fall soccer season.

Last summer, Thompson began interning with Nabih Youssef Associates, a premiere structural engineering firm in Los Angeles. There she learned about upcoming projects the firm was working on and gained hands-on knowledge about the industry.

"They gave me my own project to build something simple like a stud wall in a museum," said Thompson. "If I had any questions I could go and ask anyone. Everyone was friendly and I learned so much every day."

Thompson, who returned back to the firm last winter for a second internship, has had a fascination with architecture and engineering since a young age. Coming from a family of engineers, Thompson's brother Christopher is a mechanical engineer, her aunt Lynn is an electrical engineer and her cousin Paul is an aerospace engineer. However, she realized during her time at CSUN that she wanted to shift her focus to structural engineering as a future career path.

"Originally I was really into architecture and interior design," said Thompson. "Then I realized I wasn't the most artistic person so the architecture part of it didn't work out. I did love math though so I finally started to find out that architects design the buildings and the engineer makes it happen. That's when I changed my focus to structural engineering."

Her interests and knowledge in structural engineering has already paid dividends. After discovering that West was remodeling his home, Thompson provided guidance and valuable advice in the process.

"This past semester I took a foundation class and I was telling him about what we were doing as well as the different foundations we learned about," said Thompson. "He showed me his estimate and he asked if I could read all the points and let him know what I thought. I went through it and I actually learned a good amount of what was on the documents."

Thompson explained to her coach about areas of the remodeling that needed to be focused on while others that were not as important.

"If the settlement on one side is a lot more than the other it could cause a problem and start sinking," said Thompson. "I told him about areas of the plans he didn't need."

"She literally walked me through every bit of my house and the entire process," said West. "I gave her my plans and she told me 'you need this and you don't need that.' It was amazing."

Thompson has been able to manage her time tremendously well in order to complete a host of tasks off the field. Along with her teammates, she has volunteered at the Good Shepherd Shelter for Homeless Women and Children in Los Angeles, CA, multiple times during the course of her college career. At the shelter, Thompson and her teammates assisted in sorting clothes, building shelves, cooking breakfasts, organizing and facilitating activities while the team has provided monetary donations.

"I have gone a few times when the team needed people to sort out clothes and organize activities," said Thompson. "I went to meet with the contact person and we decided how often we needed to go and help out. The best part about helping out the women at the shelter was seeing their happiness. Even something as simple as folding clothes is something that the staff would've had to take time out to do and it would have taken away time from something more important that needed to be done. The staff and the women are so appreciate of the help and that's the best feeling ever."

Managing to squeeze time in her already busy schedule, Thompson also participated in a concrete canoe race with CSUN's chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers last spring.

"A couple of students in my class told me they needed people for a canoe race and they asked if I was interested," said Thompson. "They needed help designing the canoe and finding people for the race. I woke up really early every Sunday to go out and practice for a few hours. It was a fun experience."

Although she has focused in many areas off the field, Thompson's attention to the work needed to perform at a high level on the pitch has never wavered. During the offseason, Thompson and her teammates prepared for the new campaign with a series of workouts and training.

"A bunch of us would go out each morning and we would either run or lift," said Thompson. "We decided to play at 7 a.m. a couple of times a week because that would be the only time we were able to get the whole team together. We would go out and play at night as well. Everyone wanted to go out and improve as much as we could. Having that group of people willing to put out that extra work made other people want to join. We had a really great working environment."

Named a team captain in 2016, Thompson serves as the vocal leader on the field for the Matadors.

"My role as captain is communicating with everybody on the field as well as trying to keep their heads up if things aren't going our way," said Thompson. "If we get scored on, it's picking everybody up and assuring them we'll get the goal back. It's keeping everyone on the same page."

A consistent presence on the field, Thompson has played every minute in nine of 10 matches this season and has seen action in 971 of a possible 980 minutes. Last season, she also played every minute in 17 of 20 matches.

"The biggest thing is fitness and making sure I run a lot over the summer," said Thompson. "A lot of it is going out all day and playing all summer, preparing for the season as much as possible. On the mental side, it's watching film between games and seeing what the other players will do. On the field, it's staying engaged with my teammates. If we are all communicating with each other in the back and talking to our midfielders and forwards, it keeps us engaged in the game the whole time."

On the backline, Thompson has been a defensive pillar for the Matadors. In her 56 career matches, the Matadors have shutout 23 opponents. Despite her impact on the pitch, Thompson may be most remembered for the work she has done off the field following her playing career.

In August, Thompson returned to CSUN as a graduate student in structural engineering. Almost fitting, sandwiched in between the Matadors' first two home matches this season was Thompson's first day of grad school.

"I'm really excited about grad school because it's focused on the structural engineering side which deals with buildings, bridges and infrastructures whereas civil engineering was broader," said Thompson. "The only hard thing is that some classes conflict with game days and travel but the teachers are very understanding. I've had them as instructors before in my undergrad studies so I'll find a way to make up for the missed classes."

Already juggling grad school and a soccer season, Thompson also plans to begin working as a tutor in the fall where she will help out students in the math department. Although her final chapter of her collegiate career will be written this fall, Thomson's impact in the life of others will continue long after her playing days are over.

"I've had family members that would go to the end of the earth to help someone," said Thompson. "I admired that part of them and I really wanted to be like them. Since I was little I grew up in that environment and it transferred."

Nicole Thompson Leading on All Fields

Players Mentioned

Briana Geffre

Nicole Thompson

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