A field hockey player, friend, horse lover, sister, daughter, TCOYO member, soccer player, and a student – this is Alexandra Land. Alexandra grew up in the Chesapeake/Virginia Beach area, living on a farm with her mother and sister, with her father living close by. Although her parents separated at a young age, they still remained best friends just in separate households. Alexandra’s is in her 13th year at CHC this year. She and her sister Madison, who is a senior at VCU this year and on their division 1 field hockey team, both grew up around horses. Their mother taught them responsibility through helping taking care of the horses. Alexandra said their mother progressively gave them more chores, which helped them learn the skill of being able to manage their time, which they would both use as they grew up, being student-athletes.

Growing up as a Dolphin, her life was mainly focused on school, soccer, and field hockey. As she got into high school, she had to pick between soccer or field hockey in order to give one or the other her full attention.  She did her first clinic in first grade and ever since never stopped. She played for CHC from 6th grade all the way through her senior year. In addition to playing for school through middle and high school, she also played for her club team TCOYO. Through her club team, she got to play pretty much year round while also getting to go to tournaments to showcase her excellent skills on the field. As she got more and more serious about field hockey, she and her coaches soon realized she had the potential to play at college level. Playing for a college team would also give her an opportunity to get a scholarship. This would mean she could get a great education without the huge financial burden of college tuition on her or her parents. In 10th grade, Alexandra was scouted out by the James Madison University Women’s Field Hockey Coaches. She verbally committed to play for them that same year. JMU was not the only university to look at her and offer her a spot on their team. Ultimately, she chose JMU because she loved their program. Another reason for her decision was she knew the program had represented itself very well and wanted to be a part of a team with a great reputation. She finished her last field hockey season as a Dolphin this past fall. In her varsity career, she earned many awards, including State Player of the Year her Junior and Senior year, 1st team TCIS, and for 1st team for State. Closing out the season by, Alexandra broke the all-time leading scorer record for CHC previously held by her sister who graduated in 2015.

After she graduates in the spring of 2019, she will attend JMU the following fall. She hopes to be a science major, with a minor in gerontology. The study of gerontology is the study of the aging process of a person. Specifically, she has always been interested in studying the aging brain of a person. She takes an interest in this because she had a personal connection to diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s because her great-grandfather lived his last months battling Alzheimer’s. She hopes to help find a cure one day for these illnesses while pursuing a career in the field of geriatric medicine. Judging from Alexandra’s life thus far, she should have no problem achieving her goals in life in helping others.