Lindsay Botsford 02 It would be hard to find another Rice student more deserving of the title of scholar athlete than Lindsay Botsford. On her way to receiving her B.A. in history and policy studies, she received a myriad of awards and honors for her academic and athletic prowess. As captain of the women s soccer team, Botsford was recognized with Academic All-Western Athletic Conference honors in 2001 and 2002, when she had the top GPA on the squad. Outside athletics, Botsford served on the Rice Student Association, including as president in 2000 01, and was a member of the Rice Baylor Medical Scholars Program. In 2001, she received the Rice Women s Resource Center IMPACT Award, and in 2002, she received the Hugh Scott Cameron Award for her exemplary service to the student body. Last, but certainly not least, Botsford was recognized as a Harry S. Truman Scholar in 2001 and given an elite scholarship awarded to students with leadership potential who are committed to public service. After graduation, Botsford went on to the Baylor College of Medicine, receiving her M.D. in 2007. AMA Foundation Excellence in Medicine Leadership Award recipient, 2007 Award winner, Family Medicine Residents and Students National Conference, 2006 Truman Fellow, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Science Policy, Washington, D.C., 2002 Stancliff Award, given to student athlete graduates who want to pursue graduate school, 2002 Botsford serves on multiple American Medical Association committees as well as in the Texas Medical Association. She also has remained involved in soccer. Since 2002, Botsford has been a member of the Houston Challengers, a traveling women s soccer team. Her connection to Rice remains strong as well, and she volunteers regularly as a member of the Rice Volunteers for Admission program and serves on the Houston Young Alumni Committee.
Angela Aaker 05 A graduate of Kingwood High School, Angela Aaker began her college career at the University of Missouri, where she was named to the 2001 Big 12 Commissioner s Honor Roll and the 2002 Big 12 All-Academic Team. After playing semiprofessionally during summer 2003, Aaker began her collegiate soccer career at Rice, setting the record in 2004 for the most goals scored in a single game. While at Rice, she also won the Western Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference Award and the 2003 and 2004 Soccer Who s Who Award. She is best known for scoring the game-winning point against St. Louis University in 2004, diving through the air to volley the ball and breaking her foot in the process. She played out the season with a broken foot. Aaker earned her B.A. in kinesiology in 2005 and went on to serve as a teacher and coach at River Oaks Baptist School in Houston. Member of both the 1998 Kingwood High School soccer team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation and the 1999 Kingwood High School team that won the state championship Taught first-, second-, third- and fifth-grade physical education and coached seventh- and eighth-grade teams in field hockey, soccer and lacrosse at River Oaks Baptist School, 2005 07 Co-sponsored the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for River Oaks Baptist School Middle School As both a Rice student and alumna, Aaker has invested heavily in charities and volunteer activities. She worked with His Grace Foundation at Texas Children s Hospital between 2003 and 2005, and she volunteered for the Athletes in Action Soccer Project in Vancouver, B.C., in 2003. Aaker was a first-grade Sunday school teacher at Houston s First Baptist Church from 2005 to 2007, and she and her family currently live in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Lindsay Kristen Gambetta Botsford 05 02 As both an athlete and a student, Kristen Gambetta s accomplishments while at Rice were outstanding. As a freshman, she was a letter winner on Rice s first soccer team in 2001, and as a sophomore she ranked second on the team in points as an outside midfielder. The two goals she scored in the game against Boise State helped qualify the team for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in 2002. Gambetta was also a member of the 2003 04 Rice women s track and field team that won two WAC Championships. She competed in the 60 meters, 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100-meter relay and earned WAC Academic All-Conference honors in both soccer and track and field. In addition, she was on the President s Honor Roll from 2002 to 2004 and was a finalist for the Gilbert Hermance Award, which recognizes the most outstanding graduating kinesiology major. Gambetta received a B.A. in 2005, graduating cum laude. Account executive, Houston Dynamo, 2006 present Events intern, SPARQ, 2005 Intern, Houston Texans and Lone Star Sports and Entertainment, 2004 05 As an account executive with the Houston Dynamo, Gambetta has received numerous honors for her efforts to boost ticket sales. In 2006, Major League Soccer recognized her for finishing second out of 175 sales representatives in new season-ticket sales. She finished sixth in average revenue per stand-alone regular season game and 16th in group sales. The same year, she also was the top ticket salesperson in the Dynamo organization. Prior to her work with the Houston Dynamo, Gambetta worked as a conditioning coach, soccer coach and events intern for a Nike partner in Portland, Ore. She also worked as an intern for Lone Star Sports and Entertainment, where she coordinated an international soccer tournament. Currently, in addition to her work with the Dynamo, Gambetta is coaching a girls youth soccer team in Houston.
Ashley Hesseltine 05 A two-time letter winner, Ashley Hesseltine was a valued member of Rice s soccer team in 2001 and 2002. Recognized as a scholar athlete, Hesseltine also was a member of the Academic All-Western Athletic Conference. She was on the President s Honor Roll for four semesters and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree, triple majoring in economics, kinesiology and managerial studies. Following graduation, Hesseltine put her soccer knowledge to use as the community relations coordinator for the Houston Dynamo, the city s professional soccer team. Presently, she is combining her academic and athletic skills at Concordia Lutheran High School in Spring, Texas, as an economics and business teacher and an assistant girl s coach both in soccer and in track and cross country. Houston Astros media intern, 2005 HP Houston Marathon volunteer intern, 2005 Director of NCAA Youth Education Through Sports Softball clinic, 2004 PGA Tour Marketing/Sales intern, 2003 While at Rice, Hesseltine worked with more than 200 Rice soccer camp participants, helping the director, planning the camps and managing the camp store. Her helping ways continue today. In addition to her current coaching duties at Concordia, Hesseltine is chairwoman of the business department and sponsor of the Key Club and 2010 class.
Produced by Rice Athletics and the Office of Public Affairs October 2007