Born and raised in Prague, Czech Republic, sophomore Noemi Neubauerova is a member of Colgate’s Division One women’s ice hockey team.  

“I actually went to high school in Connecticut, that was my first time in America, for four years. But, I’ve never actually moved, I still go home to Czech for the summer,” Neubauerova said.

As a woman in the Czech Republic, Neubauerova faced a lack of opportunities to both play ice hockey and receive an education. Being in the United States has proved beneficial to furthering Neubauerova’s athletic and academic careers. 

“In [The] Czech [Republic], you don’t have that many opportunities to play women’s hockey or go to school, so it was always my dream to come here for college, and even high school,” Neubauerova said.

Neubauerova has played ice hockey since she was six years old, often playing the sport with boys when she was younger. This experience of being one of the only girls on the rink in the Czech Republic has given her an appreciation for the opportunity of playing on an all-women’s ice hockey team here at Colgate.

“I was in kindergarten when I first went skating, and I really enjoyed it. One of my friends was the only girl playing boy’s hockey back home, so she was like a role model for me,” Neubauerova said. “Being from a place like Czech, where growing up I would always play with boys, it is a big dream for lots of girls who play hockey in Czech to be here,” Neubauerova said. 

While at Colgate, Neubauerova manages the taxing time commitment of being a student-athlete. 

“School and hockey are pretty much all I do, they take up a lot of time,” Neubauerova said. “It’s definitely not easy to do. It’s a lot. They kind of just throw you in when you come here, and you just have to learn on your own and make sure you do assignments on time, and whenever you have a little bit of time you have to use it to get ahead on work.” 

In addition to ice hockey, Neubauerova is also passionate about Psychology, her recently declared concentration. She sees a future for herself in which she continues with both her athletic and academic endeavors, sacrificing neither in the pursuit of her goals.

“I like everything about psychology. I’d maybe like to get a master’s degree and go to more school and hopefully find a good job somewhere in America,” Neubauerova said. “I would also like to play hockey for at least another year or so, probably in Europe.”