Not only does USC boast world-class athletes, but world-class student-athletes as well. Each month, we will profile one of these outstanding Trojans who has chosen to pursue coursework in either the science, technology, engineering or math field (STEM).
Name: Deanna Hill
Sarah Bergstrom (SB): So what brought you to USC? I know you're from Florida, which has a great track history, so what brought you across the country?
Deanna Hill (DH): It was really the recruiting process. I didn't feel like staying in Florida. Having grown up there my whole life I really wanted to see something new. I was big on weather and where the school was, so there were schools that were nice, but the location might not have been as good. I wanted to try LA. You hear so much about it and how it's so expensive, but to be able to go here for free and get to experience it without the cost of paying for it, it was something I could try.
SB: Did you know what you wanted to major in when you were in high school?
DH: I've always leaned toward the medicine side of things. When I was little I had different ideas like being a chef (laughs), but at the end of the day it was about going into medicine because I like the body.
SB: Is that something your parents or anyone in your family got into?
DH: No, though, they like it too. But they're not medical people.
SB: What was your recruitment like? Coach Caryl had just gotten here, so what was she like in the recruiting process?
DH: She had been at UCF, which is in Orlando, and I went to middle school and high school in Orlando, so she knew my parents. They had communication. I knew her through that and I had seen her at meets. So when she moved she started recruiting me for here [USC]. We had a relationship through that so that was kind of comforting. She brought me out here and when we came out it was more of a family than a team. With track it can get a little hard to find a team where everybody comes together and is close since track has so many types of people. I'd go to some other teams and see that they were trying for the visit to be close, but in reality they were more split up. Here people naturally were more of a family and that's what [Coach Caryl] aimed for with the team. It's not about success. The first priority is the team getting along, then our personal lives, and then it's track. I like how she staggered those.
SB: What's she like as a coach? I've heard really good things from a lot of your teammates, but what's been your experience?
DH: She's as hard as any top coach would be. What I think makes her so different is she's one of the first female coaches to have men and women on her team. With that comes a lot of pressure, but I think she handles it really well. Her priorities are a little different than other coaches. A lot of coaches are about athletics first and making sure you win. But she wants you to have your personal life in order and then the athletics can fall in line right behind it. That's kind of something I was drawn toward.
SB: On the track side of things, you accomplished a ton as a freshman. Did you have certain expectations for yourself or did you surprise yourself, especially on the 4x100m relay team?
DH: Coming in I just wanted to do well. I didn't have any straight goals. Coming out of high school I wasn't ranked number one or anything, so coming in I just wanted to make a bigger name for myself. I was known, but not as much as I wanted to be known. That was kind of my goal. When the season started shaping out, it was a surprise. I had worked really hard in the fall, but to see it be done and finally come together, that was more of the surprise part. Being able to run those times was really fun. Then having the team aspect of things and being so close was fun any time we stepped on the track together.
SB: Where did last season's success put you in terms of thinking about your goals and what you wanted to accomplish this year? Having experienced and done well at the NCAAs, what did that do for your outlook for this year?
DH: I think it set me up this year to work even harder because I went to NCAAs last year as a freshman, and so few freshmen get to make it that far. That set me up to do even better in my individual events, as well as my relay. My relay finished really well, but I didn't do as well as I wanted to in my individual events, so that made me a little hungrier this year.
Name: Deanna Hill Sport: Women's Track & Field
Year: Sophomore
Major: Human BiologySarah Bergstrom (SB): So what brought you to USC? I know you're from Florida, which has a great track history, so what brought you across the country?
Deanna Hill (DH): It was really the recruiting process. I didn't feel like staying in Florida. Having grown up there my whole life I really wanted to see something new. I was big on weather and where the school was, so there were schools that were nice, but the location might not have been as good. I wanted to try LA. You hear so much about it and how it's so expensive, but to be able to go here for free and get to experience it without the cost of paying for it, it was something I could try.
SB: Did you know what you wanted to major in when you were in high school?
DH: I've always leaned toward the medicine side of things. When I was little I had different ideas like being a chef (laughs), but at the end of the day it was about going into medicine because I like the body.
SB: Is that something your parents or anyone in your family got into?
DH: No, though, they like it too. But they're not medical people.
SB: What was your recruitment like? Coach Caryl had just gotten here, so what was she like in the recruiting process?
DH: She had been at UCF, which is in Orlando, and I went to middle school and high school in Orlando, so she knew my parents. They had communication. I knew her through that and I had seen her at meets. So when she moved she started recruiting me for here [USC]. We had a relationship through that so that was kind of comforting. She brought me out here and when we came out it was more of a family than a team. With track it can get a little hard to find a team where everybody comes together and is close since track has so many types of people. I'd go to some other teams and see that they were trying for the visit to be close, but in reality they were more split up. Here people naturally were more of a family and that's what [Coach Caryl] aimed for with the team. It's not about success. The first priority is the team getting along, then our personal lives, and then it's track. I like how she staggered those.
SB: What's she like as a coach? I've heard really good things from a lot of your teammates, but what's been your experience?
DH: She's as hard as any top coach would be. What I think makes her so different is she's one of the first female coaches to have men and women on her team. With that comes a lot of pressure, but I think she handles it really well. Her priorities are a little different than other coaches. A lot of coaches are about athletics first and making sure you win. But she wants you to have your personal life in order and then the athletics can fall in line right behind it. That's kind of something I was drawn toward.
SB: On the track side of things, you accomplished a ton as a freshman. Did you have certain expectations for yourself or did you surprise yourself, especially on the 4x100m relay team?
DH: Coming in I just wanted to do well. I didn't have any straight goals. Coming out of high school I wasn't ranked number one or anything, so coming in I just wanted to make a bigger name for myself. I was known, but not as much as I wanted to be known. That was kind of my goal. When the season started shaping out, it was a surprise. I had worked really hard in the fall, but to see it be done and finally come together, that was more of the surprise part. Being able to run those times was really fun. Then having the team aspect of things and being so close was fun any time we stepped on the track together.
SB: Where did last season's success put you in terms of thinking about your goals and what you wanted to accomplish this year? Having experienced and done well at the NCAAs, what did that do for your outlook for this year?
DH: I think it set me up this year to work even harder because I went to NCAAs last year as a freshman, and so few freshmen get to make it that far. That set me up to do even better in my individual events, as well as my relay. My relay finished really well, but I didn't do as well as I wanted to in my individual events, so that made me a little hungrier this year.
SB:Are there people, maybe even ahead of you at USC, that you look up to in the sport?
DH: My favorite person since high school has been Allyson Felix. This year she's in the 400m and competing in other stuff, but originally her best was the 200m. So that's where I hone in with her. My 200s usually tend to be better than all my other events. She was able to do the 100 really well and also the 400. So that's what I aim for, to be an all-around sprinter. I did some 4x400m relay work this year and I opened pretty well in the 100m.
SB: One thing I like to ask sprinters is what is going through your mind when you're getting lined up, getting in the starting blocks? Do you have a ritual?
DH: For me, I try and clear my head. The best races I've had, it starts with me thinking about not thinking about what I'm going to do (laughs). There are some races where you're thinking about every little thing, but at the end of the day, the best ones have come from not thinking about much. I go through and say my Philippians 4:13 and then I just try to keep saying that until it's time for the gun to go off. With our team, we all have the same ritual of getting into the blocks, so I do that. When I get into the box we all have our own little cues. Mine is push. So when he says "set," I'm saying "push, push, push." The only thing I'm thinking of is my first step, instead of the whole race. When you think about the whole race it's too much, it's overwhelming. I think "push, push, push," and once the gun's off it's just running.
SB: Switching a bit now to academics, what has it been like in human biology, being one of the hardest majors here. Did you know that coming in?
DH: If I thought about it more, how hard of a major it is should have popped up in my head. But I came in I wanted to do it and I didn't think anything past that. When I came in it was really challenging, especially my first semester trying to figure out track and also the school work and classes. In high school, you have school, then you have class, then homework. But here it's like school, track, more school, tutoring in the middle of that, go home, but then maybe come back. It was a lot not having a set schedule each day. So I had to set my own schedule. It was a lot of adjusting, which made me question if I really wanted to be a human bio major. Then I thought about it and there was really nothing else I wanted to do. I knew it was going to be hard, but I figured I should just stick with what I wanted to do and what I came in to do.
SB: What is it about human bio that you like specifically? Do you know what you might want to do with it down the road at some point?
DH: I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I want to do with it. I just enjoy the body and learning about the body. I don't know if that comes from playing sports. I love when something just clicks, when I see something and can see how it applies to track or something I feel. With human bio there's just so much that clicks, even in my everyday life.
SB: If you were able to look back and talk to yourself a year or a year and a half ago, what's the best piece of advice you wished you'd been told, whether it's regarding adjustments or being able to balance both track and school?
DH: I wish I would have learned better study habits in high school. Not just a year ago (laughs) but I need to go back a couple years and start there. Organization is another thing. I finally got it, but coming in there was a lot to organize. In high school I was pretty organized but I didn't have to be that organized. It was a set schedule, everything was set for you. Going back, being a little more organized would have really helped me.
SB: What are three things you wish someone knew about you that have nothing to do with being an athlete?
DH: One is I'm pretty goofy, even though people say I have a pretty serious, straight face. When they just look at me I guess I don't seem very nice. But I'm a complete goofball. I'm really weird and just spit out random stuff. Besides that, I'd say I'm weird, I'm goofy and I'm versatile. I get along with everybody. I have different personalities. I hang out with different kinds of people and listen to different types of music. I don't know how to define myself in just one group because I can go into any group and find something that clicks.
SB: Transitioning back to track, but this is kind of an interesting parallel. Relays are really different than focusing on one event, so what's it like with the girls you're with, this year and last year? You guys have been doing really well. How's it been as a group to grow together, push each other and to be able to add a different element to track on top of so many individual events?
DH: It's great because, like in the 4x100, we already work together for individual events in practice. So relay days are really the best days, especially when we work on our relay hand-offs. You do your own thing, but you include everyone else to give everyone advice on what they're doing differently about the hand-off and what they can do better. When you're warming up for the relay, you always warm up with your team, but you're still kind of warming up for yourself. When you step up to the line there's someone for you to beat. In the relay you really warm up together. You stretch, you talk about it, get each other hyped up. It's fun warming up for the relays. Normally it gets tiring warming up in the hot sun, but the relay makes it quick and fun.
SB: Do you consistently run the same leg?
NH: Last year I consistently ran the first leg, but in the NCAAs they had me switch over to anchor because one of my teammates got injured at Regionals.
SB: That's a pretty big difference!
NH: Yeah, well in high school I did do the second leg and the fourth leg. But coming in to college I'd never run an anchor leg. And suddenly it was in the NCAA finals so I was terrified, completely terrified. Coach asked me if I was good, and straight-faced I said I was perfectly fine, but I was terrified. I barely remember the race. I remember getting the baton, finishing and then just looking around. I remember going to my coach and I didn't know if I did well or not. I couldn't remember anything. I was walking up slow, trying to wait for her reaction. And she was so happy and hugged me. Last year I was first leg. This year I've been doing second leg. I enjoy it. Like I said, I did it in high school so it's not something really new to me. But it is a transition from last year, now running the curve instead of straight. This year I have to get the baton, while last year I just handed it off.
SB: What's going through your mind when you're waiting, but also when you're watching the rest of the race knowing it's out of your hands?
NH: Getting the baton, I'm just looking at my mark. You have to wait for the person to hit the box or step into the box. So I just watch the box. You want to watch the race, but you can't. I tell myself, "Watch your box!" Then you have to not worry about other people getting the baton before you. I'm literally just looking at this little box until I see another foot in the box, and then I just go. It's like this .2 seconds of wondering if I'm going to get the baton. It all happens really fast, but in the moment it feels really slow. So I'm waiting for this baton and getting the baton is the happiest thing. Now I can do what I know how to do. I'm in control. Then I run and hand it off. The way we hand-off is we continue to run through the zone. So half the time I'm sprinting with them and screaming "Go!" I think it's a relief when I get the baton. The middle part when I'm running is the fun, that's where everyone enjoys the relay. You get to do what you do. When you get the baton in your hand you run so much faster. Maybe I should get a baton when I run individual events (laughs). There's just something with the baton. It makes you do crazy things. Once you hand it off it's another release. It's out of my hands. We trust our teammates, so once it's past me I feel relief like I did my job. I know my team will do theirs.
DH: My favorite person since high school has been Allyson Felix. This year she's in the 400m and competing in other stuff, but originally her best was the 200m. So that's where I hone in with her. My 200s usually tend to be better than all my other events. She was able to do the 100 really well and also the 400. So that's what I aim for, to be an all-around sprinter. I did some 4x400m relay work this year and I opened pretty well in the 100m.
SB: One thing I like to ask sprinters is what is going through your mind when you're getting lined up, getting in the starting blocks? Do you have a ritual?
DH: For me, I try and clear my head. The best races I've had, it starts with me thinking about not thinking about what I'm going to do (laughs). There are some races where you're thinking about every little thing, but at the end of the day, the best ones have come from not thinking about much. I go through and say my Philippians 4:13 and then I just try to keep saying that until it's time for the gun to go off. With our team, we all have the same ritual of getting into the blocks, so I do that. When I get into the box we all have our own little cues. Mine is push. So when he says "set," I'm saying "push, push, push." The only thing I'm thinking of is my first step, instead of the whole race. When you think about the whole race it's too much, it's overwhelming. I think "push, push, push," and once the gun's off it's just running.
SB: Switching a bit now to academics, what has it been like in human biology, being one of the hardest majors here. Did you know that coming in?
DH: If I thought about it more, how hard of a major it is should have popped up in my head. But I came in I wanted to do it and I didn't think anything past that. When I came in it was really challenging, especially my first semester trying to figure out track and also the school work and classes. In high school, you have school, then you have class, then homework. But here it's like school, track, more school, tutoring in the middle of that, go home, but then maybe come back. It was a lot not having a set schedule each day. So I had to set my own schedule. It was a lot of adjusting, which made me question if I really wanted to be a human bio major. Then I thought about it and there was really nothing else I wanted to do. I knew it was going to be hard, but I figured I should just stick with what I wanted to do and what I came in to do.
SB: What is it about human bio that you like specifically? Do you know what you might want to do with it down the road at some point?
DH: I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I want to do with it. I just enjoy the body and learning about the body. I don't know if that comes from playing sports. I love when something just clicks, when I see something and can see how it applies to track or something I feel. With human bio there's just so much that clicks, even in my everyday life.
SB: If you were able to look back and talk to yourself a year or a year and a half ago, what's the best piece of advice you wished you'd been told, whether it's regarding adjustments or being able to balance both track and school?
DH: I wish I would have learned better study habits in high school. Not just a year ago (laughs) but I need to go back a couple years and start there. Organization is another thing. I finally got it, but coming in there was a lot to organize. In high school I was pretty organized but I didn't have to be that organized. It was a set schedule, everything was set for you. Going back, being a little more organized would have really helped me.
SB: What are three things you wish someone knew about you that have nothing to do with being an athlete?
DH: One is I'm pretty goofy, even though people say I have a pretty serious, straight face. When they just look at me I guess I don't seem very nice. But I'm a complete goofball. I'm really weird and just spit out random stuff. Besides that, I'd say I'm weird, I'm goofy and I'm versatile. I get along with everybody. I have different personalities. I hang out with different kinds of people and listen to different types of music. I don't know how to define myself in just one group because I can go into any group and find something that clicks.
SB: Transitioning back to track, but this is kind of an interesting parallel. Relays are really different than focusing on one event, so what's it like with the girls you're with, this year and last year? You guys have been doing really well. How's it been as a group to grow together, push each other and to be able to add a different element to track on top of so many individual events?
DH: It's great because, like in the 4x100, we already work together for individual events in practice. So relay days are really the best days, especially when we work on our relay hand-offs. You do your own thing, but you include everyone else to give everyone advice on what they're doing differently about the hand-off and what they can do better. When you're warming up for the relay, you always warm up with your team, but you're still kind of warming up for yourself. When you step up to the line there's someone for you to beat. In the relay you really warm up together. You stretch, you talk about it, get each other hyped up. It's fun warming up for the relays. Normally it gets tiring warming up in the hot sun, but the relay makes it quick and fun.
SB: Do you consistently run the same leg?
NH: Last year I consistently ran the first leg, but in the NCAAs they had me switch over to anchor because one of my teammates got injured at Regionals.
SB: That's a pretty big difference!
NH: Yeah, well in high school I did do the second leg and the fourth leg. But coming in to college I'd never run an anchor leg. And suddenly it was in the NCAA finals so I was terrified, completely terrified. Coach asked me if I was good, and straight-faced I said I was perfectly fine, but I was terrified. I barely remember the race. I remember getting the baton, finishing and then just looking around. I remember going to my coach and I didn't know if I did well or not. I couldn't remember anything. I was walking up slow, trying to wait for her reaction. And she was so happy and hugged me. Last year I was first leg. This year I've been doing second leg. I enjoy it. Like I said, I did it in high school so it's not something really new to me. But it is a transition from last year, now running the curve instead of straight. This year I have to get the baton, while last year I just handed it off.
SB: What's going through your mind when you're waiting, but also when you're watching the rest of the race knowing it's out of your hands?
NH: Getting the baton, I'm just looking at my mark. You have to wait for the person to hit the box or step into the box. So I just watch the box. You want to watch the race, but you can't. I tell myself, "Watch your box!" Then you have to not worry about other people getting the baton before you. I'm literally just looking at this little box until I see another foot in the box, and then I just go. It's like this .2 seconds of wondering if I'm going to get the baton. It all happens really fast, but in the moment it feels really slow. So I'm waiting for this baton and getting the baton is the happiest thing. Now I can do what I know how to do. I'm in control. Then I run and hand it off. The way we hand-off is we continue to run through the zone. So half the time I'm sprinting with them and screaming "Go!" I think it's a relief when I get the baton. The middle part when I'm running is the fun, that's where everyone enjoys the relay. You get to do what you do. When you get the baton in your hand you run so much faster. Maybe I should get a baton when I run individual events (laughs). There's just something with the baton. It makes you do crazy things. Once you hand it off it's another release. It's out of my hands. We trust our teammates, so once it's past me I feel relief like I did my job. I know my team will do theirs.
