Telegram & Gazette: "Worcester State's Alyssa Jasper Is Nursing A Full Lineup"
Worcester, MA --- As a kid, Alyssa Jasper was always the first on the scene when one of her siblings or friends fell off their bicycles or skinned their knees on the jungle gym. "I've always loved opening Band-Aids and putting them on people's cuts," said Jasper, a Worcester State senior.
September 17, 2014
By Jen Toland, College Beat Writer
September 17, 2014
Worcester, MA --- As a kid, Alyssa Jasper was always the first on the scene when one of her siblings or friends fell off their bicycles or skinned their knees on the jungle gym.
"I've always loved opening Band-Aids and putting them on people's cuts," said Jasper, a Worcester State senior.
Jasper probably knew it back then, but by the time she was 16, she was certain she wanted to pursue a career in nursing.
One night, in the living room of her family's home in Rockland, the varicose veins in her mom, Anna's, legs ruptured.
"She pulled down her sock, and the blood went all over me," Jasper said. "I was holding big, thick towels on her legs, and blood was seeping onto my hands, and it didn't bother me at all. My sister and my boyfriend were both like, 'I can't do this,' so while we were waiting for the ambulance they were in the kitchen dying over a little blood, and I'm like, 'I got this.'"
Not surprisingly, Jasper would like to work in a hospital emergency room.
Jasper thrives under pressure.
"She loves to be challenged," said Worcester State volleyball coach Bernie Chase, who has overseen Jasper's record-setting and all-conference career. "She's at her best when she's challenged."
There is no letup for Jasper during the school year. In addition to the demands of her nursing major, she is a three-season athlete, also competing for the indoor and outdoor track and field teams. Last year, she was one of 15 three-season athletes at Worcester State.
Jasper owns the school records in the javelin (147 feet, 4 inches) and shot put (41-1½) and captured All-America honors last spring in the heptathlon.
At the NCAA Division 3 Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Delaware, Ohio, in May, Jasper was in ninth place heading into the final event of the heptathlon, the 800. The top eight earn All-America status.
"She is a tough competitor," Worcester State track and field coach Jim Lemieux said. "When she needs to dig down and make something happen, she will."
Jasper ran a personal-best 2:27.01, the fastest time by a Lancer athlete in the last three seasons, and captured eighth place. She was the second Worcester State athlete to garner All-America honors in the heptathlon, joining Elke Aun, who did it in 1996.
"The last 100 (meters) I put my head down and just went," Jasper said, "and I finished, and the screen flashed and said eighth. I cried for half an hour. That was the best moment of my athletic career by far."
Jasper was a state champion in the shot put and discus at Rockland High, and at the urging of her biggest fan and father, Robert, switched to javelin in college.
"He just thought it looked cooler than the other two events I did," Jasper said.
Jasper is the two-time defending Division 3 New England javelin champion.
Jasper, an outside hitter on the volleyball team, set a single-match school record for kills last year against Salem State, and she is closing in on 1,000 career kills (she was at 909 heading into Tuesday night's match against Mass. Maritime). She is 218 away from the all-time program record.
The Lancers are off to a fine start at 6-2.
"This is our best season so far," said Jasper, a co-captain and three-time All-MASCAC selection. "This year, everyone is in it for the same goal."
Jasper played one season of basketball for the Lancers and averaged 2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 24 games her sophomore year.
Jasper has earned All-Academic recognition from the MASCAC, U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and Co-SIDA. She carries an impressive 3.6 GPA.
"I've always loved opening Band-Aids and putting them on people's cuts," said Jasper, a Worcester State senior.
Jasper probably knew it back then, but by the time she was 16, she was certain she wanted to pursue a career in nursing.
One night, in the living room of her family's home in Rockland, the varicose veins in her mom, Anna's, legs ruptured.
"She pulled down her sock, and the blood went all over me," Jasper said. "I was holding big, thick towels on her legs, and blood was seeping onto my hands, and it didn't bother me at all. My sister and my boyfriend were both like, 'I can't do this,' so while we were waiting for the ambulance they were in the kitchen dying over a little blood, and I'm like, 'I got this.'"
Not surprisingly, Jasper would like to work in a hospital emergency room.
Jasper thrives under pressure.
"She loves to be challenged," said Worcester State volleyball coach Bernie Chase, who has overseen Jasper's record-setting and all-conference career. "She's at her best when she's challenged."
There is no letup for Jasper during the school year. In addition to the demands of her nursing major, she is a three-season athlete, also competing for the indoor and outdoor track and field teams. Last year, she was one of 15 three-season athletes at Worcester State.
Jasper owns the school records in the javelin (147 feet, 4 inches) and shot put (41-1½) and captured All-America honors last spring in the heptathlon.
At the NCAA Division 3 Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Delaware, Ohio, in May, Jasper was in ninth place heading into the final event of the heptathlon, the 800. The top eight earn All-America status.
"She is a tough competitor," Worcester State track and field coach Jim Lemieux said. "When she needs to dig down and make something happen, she will."
Jasper ran a personal-best 2:27.01, the fastest time by a Lancer athlete in the last three seasons, and captured eighth place. She was the second Worcester State athlete to garner All-America honors in the heptathlon, joining Elke Aun, who did it in 1996.
"The last 100 (meters) I put my head down and just went," Jasper said, "and I finished, and the screen flashed and said eighth. I cried for half an hour. That was the best moment of my athletic career by far."
Jasper was a state champion in the shot put and discus at Rockland High, and at the urging of her biggest fan and father, Robert, switched to javelin in college.
"He just thought it looked cooler than the other two events I did," Jasper said.
Jasper is the two-time defending Division 3 New England javelin champion.
Jasper, an outside hitter on the volleyball team, set a single-match school record for kills last year against Salem State, and she is closing in on 1,000 career kills (she was at 909 heading into Tuesday night's match against Mass. Maritime). She is 218 away from the all-time program record.
The Lancers are off to a fine start at 6-2.
"This is our best season so far," said Jasper, a co-captain and three-time All-MASCAC selection. "This year, everyone is in it for the same goal."
Jasper played one season of basketball for the Lancers and averaged 2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 24 games her sophomore year.
Jasper has earned All-Academic recognition from the MASCAC, U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and Co-SIDA. She carries an impressive 3.6 GPA.
"It's hard," Jasper said about balancing her busy workload and excelling in all parts of it. "But I never look at it like, 'Oh, I have all this work to do.' I always break up my day by what I have to get done.
"But I'm definitely a procrastinator. I work better under pressure. It motivates me to get better. That's just how I work. It's not that I'm not managing my time; I know I work better under pressure and that's even true in game situations, said Jasper."
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