The game of basketball has a practical concept. Two teams of five players attempt to put a ball in to a basket. The side with the most points at the end of some set amount of time is the winner.  Sounds simple, right?
 
As Biology and Environmental Science double major, senior women's basketball player Christina Marquette's course load in the classroom isn't that simple, but like her play on the court, her work in the classroom is very impressive. Earning a 3.39 GPA has demanded a lot of work from Marquette, who serves as the team captain for the women's basketball squad.
 
Like most young scientists with a passion for sustainability and natural preservation, Marquette believes climate change and the environment are important issues. However, unlike the political whirlwind that climate change has become in society today, Marquette aims toward a more practical approach.
 
"I feel that protecting the environment is a practical problem," she explained. "Obviously, if you live in an environment and if you're destroying that environment, it's bad for you. Even though I have always loved hiking and camping and just being outside, I feel caring about the environment is more a need for survival."
 
From an academic standpoint, Marquette has been captivated by the teachings of Dr. Roger Laushman, the David Orr Associate Professor of Environmental Studies. In addition to providing the conventional lecture with notes and slides, Laushman took a hands-on approach to environmental studies, offering a more natural classroom setting.
 
"During lab periods, we would hike the areas around campus and complete in-field research to gain a different perspective outside of learning in a classroom setting," said Marquette. "It's not just a concept anymore; you can see it. You can experience it and you have something more than a textbook definition."
 
Occasionally, lab periods would become weekend-long camping trips, which were a way for learning to expand beyond the orthodox lesson plans. Besides the educational value of the in-field research experience, the campfire setting allowed Marquette to learn practical skills outside of the usual curriculum.
 
Now one semester away from graduation, Marquette's journey from her hometown Huntington Beach, California to Oberlin was simple. Aspiring to play college basketball and major in biology, it wasn't until December of her senior year in high school that Marquette met Oberlin's Head Coach Kerry Jenkins.
 
"Coach Jenkins came to visit me in California and watched me practice, which is what no other coach did," explained Marquette. "Coach had dinner with my family and convinced me to visit campus. Oberlin didn't compare to other schools I visited. I felt comfortable. I felt like it was the place I wanted to be. I knew it was Oberlin."
 
Since arriving to campus as a bright-eyed first-year, Marquette has made an impact on the women's basketball program despite having to cope with adversity on and off the court. Through support from Coach Jenkins, Marquette overcame the first-year difficulties that accompany moving across the country, leaving friends and family, and playing at the next level.
 
Despite the hiccups associated with being a first-year student-athlete in a new place, playing for a new coach and with new teammates, Marquette has dribbled around all the obstacles in her way to become one of the most storied female athletes in Oberlin history.
 
When she arrived, Jenkins' roster featured nine players, herself. In her first season, Marquette immediately made an impact, averaging 12.8 points per game in 36.9 minutes. Even more impressively, she recorded her single-game career-high of 35 points less than a month into her first season in a 73-60 rout of Hiram on December 12, 2011.
 
"There are adjustments I had to make as a freshman like being away from home, being on campus for a month when it was only me and eight teammates during winter term, and at first it was difficult to adapt," recalled Marquette. "Coach (Jenkins) was a support system my first year and he helped me not overreact to everything around me, which allowed me to improve."
 
Now in the final stretch of her senior year, the connection with Coach Jenkins has not changed.
 
"Even though coach supports me just as he did when I was a first-year, now he pushes me to reach my full potential everyday," said Marquette. "He held me to a higher standard as a sophomore and junior, and now we have more of a captain-coach relationship. Expectations are still high, but we talk basketball a lot and what I need to do to be a better leader."
 
Aside from her experiences with Laushman and her relationship with Coach Jenkins, Marquette encountered another opportunity that has made her time at Oberlin special.
 
While volunteering at Kendal at Oberlin her sophomore year, Christina met a resident who had quite a different basketball story than her own.
 
"That was a special year," said Marquette. "One of the residents played basketball, which was something I immediately connected to, but Title IX wasn't around yet, so she never played competitively. It was interesting to learn how much has changed for female athletes. That experience made me grateful for the opportunities I've had and the position I am in."
 
The position Marquette is in now is historic.
 
Already the all-time leading rebounder in women's basketball program history with 915, Marquette etched her name into the Oberlin record book once more, breaking the program's all-time scoring record of 1,693 that has stood uncontested for over a decade. She surpassed Nzinga Broussard's '02 mark on February 18, 2015 against Ohio Welseyan in Delaware, Ohio and ultimately ended her illustrious career with 1,743 points, averaging 16.8 per game while starting in every game of her career.
 
Marquette partially attributes her status as one of the most decorated female basketball players to her work ethic in the gym.
 
"You go out and do the best that you can everyday," said Marquette. "I have worked hard to put myself in this position, but I try not to be concerned with stats or if I am the best player on the floor. I just try to work hard to put myself in the right position to make me, and the team, successful."
 
"If you put the work in and play with heart, you have to live with whatever the scoreboard says at the end of the game," Marquette concluded.
 
"Christina is versatile, dedicated, and has a tremendous work ethic," said Jenkins. "She is one of those players that you can put anywhere on the floor and she will make a difference. I realized her first-year that she was too talented to be average, but she never wanted to be the leading rebounder and never wanted to be the potential all-time leading scorer. She just wanted to be a good teammate and work hard."
 
Despite what happens down the stretch, Marquette's career is bound to roll on. However, following graduation in May, Marquette's hopes basketball journey will take a turn into the realm of coaching.
 
"Basketball has made a huge impact me, and I couldn't imagine my life without it. Playing has taught me about hard work, overcoming adversity, committing to something and following through, how to be a teammate and so much more. It has made me a strong person and I want to pass that back to people. I learned from coaches and I believe that's best way I could give back and empower younger women to be as passionate about basketball as I am."
 
"She has always had coaching tendencies," explained Jenkins. "Christina has a very high basketball IQ and she has great understanding of the game and the ability to teach it. Coaching is a natural fit for a player like Christina, and our profession can benefit from having her be apart of it."
 
Earning NCAC Player of the Year and Great Lakes All-Region First-Team honors at season's end took a lot of determination from Marquette. She will continue to benefit from the skills she has learned inside and outside of the classroom for years to come. With those lessons, Marquette hopes to cultivate the next generation of female basketball players in her post-Oberlin life.

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