Scheduling Herself for Success
Boulom continues to cross off some impressive tasks
Mike Brohard
Being ahead of schedule wasn’t on her schedule. Which is surprising, because Avery Boulom has every part of her life mapped out.
Naturally her classes when school is in session. Practices and rehab work are there. When she works. When she buys groceries and attends church. Errands, such as taking a friend to the airport and helping her roommate move in are noted. Even fun things, such as going out to dinner, hitting the reservoir to paddleboard, seeing a movie or watching a World Cup game.
The calendar – on her computer through Goodnotes and available to her via her phone – is a string of dates and times, even color coded. To some who are organized, they may even see it as a bit over the top.
To her slightly disorganized roommate, it’s cool.
“I wouldn’t say it’s intense, it’s just organized. She keeps me organized too, because a lot of our schedule is the same,” teammate and best friend Bridget Arnold said. “It’s not annoying, it’s great. It’s great someone is that organized.
“It fits her perfectly.”
Colorado State soccer coach Keeley Hagen thinks so, too. Her point is organized people usually do well, which Boulom has in multiple arenas. Academically. Athletically. Becoming a complete person, someone who is respected by all who come into contact with her.
To Hagen, her player’s ability to stay on task is very much related to the character trait she respects most in Boulom.
“Her resilience. It's easy. I mean, she's a kid that came in, came from a really good club, and just has stuck through the adversity,” Hagen said. “And she's had a bunch of different things thrown at her, and it's been really great to see her just keep pushing and getting better, even when her back's been against the wall. And she just keeps fighting, and just keeps climbing, and I'm just really proud of her for that.”
When Boulom, entering his fourth year with the Rams, arrived on campus, she did so with her belongings for her dorm room but also 24 college credits earned by taking courses at a local community college while working her way toward graduation from Mansfield High School in Texas.
She didn’t think much of the head start until meeting with her academic advisor.
“I had to go to my college advisor to set up my schedules. And he realized it and he was like, ‘hey, I can get you out in three years.’ I never really thought about what my future would look like,” Boulom said. “So then I was like, you know, why not? So sometimes I would take my minimum 15 credits each semester, and some I did take 18 credits. So I did those mainly in the spring because we're a fall sport. And then I passed those.
“Then I started talking with my parents and family about what could my future look like. That's when we kind of looked into master's programs because at the time I did redshirt my freshman year. So I knew I have an extra year to play soccer, why not kind of achieve something that no one in my family has gotten before? I'm getting a master's degree.”
Boulom earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing in just three years, and she knows she wants to stick with the business route. She has already taken jobs selling medical equipment, and she’s currently working part time for Weaver Stone Company in Fort Collins, a gig as the social media specialist which started with a social media internship.
When classes begin in a few weeks, Boulom will transition to earning her MBA She’ll start work on her MBA while focusing on finance. She said it is her way of expanding her toolbox.
She knows what she wants, and she works hard to get it.Bridget Arnold
Thus, she created her intricate calendar.
“I think for me, I am a big person on to-do lists and organizing. So every day I have my calendar and I have my to-do list, which is kind of crazy,” she said. “But I always mark off what I've done and all that. So I think it’s just finding time to organize myself but also find a balance of having time for myself is key.
“Every night before the next day, I go through what I need to do, and I just cross that list off as I go. I’m a very on-the-go person. I like being busy.”
The calendar is her proof. So is her life as a student-athlete. The academic all-conference accolades came more naturally than her role as a starter in the Rams’ back row.
A midfielder growing up, the transition to college soccer was trying for her, even frustrating at times. Hagen identified her skillset for defense early on, and Boulom appeared in six matches her second year. This past season, she was part of a rebuilt back line, one which also included Arnold, who moved all the way back from the front.
“I would say the biggest thing was learning my freshman year. I think it was like a learning, growth moment because you know you're coming to an environment that is completely new, especially since I came from a whole new state,” Boulom said. “I think just leaning on … I had great seniors at the time to help me through the transition period. It was leaning on them, and I think also just persevering. You know, I did have a hard time kind of transitioning, but I think it’s just knowing that everything works out in the end.”
She started in 18 of 19 matches last season. In 13 of them, she never left the field and in two others she sat out just a single minute. While she played center back, Arnold was on her outside, using the bond they formed as friends to help them work in tandem on one side of the field. Colorado State was 10-4-5 in a season where it posted six clean sheets and cracked the national rankings for the first time in program history.
They will likely stick together along the back row again this season, a bond Arnold appreciates in both areas of their lives. A bond which again is aided by Boulom keeping a tight schedule.
“I think it helps, but I think that's just how she is. She's on top of it,” Arnold said. “She knows what she wants, and she works hard to get it. She's a big leader on our team, and I think that bleeds into our practice, into our games, and into the culture of the team that we build. She does a really great job of implementing that all throughout her life.”
Arnold will tell you it was a friendship not predestined in the stars. The bond is more on par with a goalie scoring goal on the pitch. One is really organized, while the other appreciates the calendar’s addition to her life. One of them likes to spend money, while Arnold reminds Boulom there is a difference between a “need” purchase and one which is simply a “want.”
Arnold will also celebrate the spontaneous moments they create together as much as thwarting an opponent’s counterattack. Situations will be discussed in a team setting, then they can take home the part which really focuses on their link together, and they can discuss it further.
“She's stuck with me through a lot of hard times transitioning here my freshman year. And I think that's what honestly makes us such a good pair, because I know she has my back, and she knows I have her back,” Boulom said. “So I think that's something that helps.”
The Rams are counting on that bond again as the season opens Aug. 12 at Colorado. A new season, the first foray into the Pac-12. The other side of the defense has been retooled again, too.
So are her classes. They will move online mostly, and she knows she’s going to miss the in-classes discussions. Hagen knows she’ll adjust to all of it, because that’s the person she’s shown to be throughout her career.
Welcome to college athletics, where coaches talk about building the entire person.
“I think that's the whole thing. We believe in our program that soccer teaches you life lessons, and it's definitely done that for her,” the coach said. “I think, again, showing the type of character that she has and who she's grown into.
“She's had a lot on her plate, she's been able to manage it, she's had a good attitude about it, and that's what I've loved seeing throughout all of it. She's just really taking advantage of her opportunity, and that's really what, for me, has been awesome.”
In a way, it highlights the impact of her schedule. All one has to do is set it up and meet the demands, as well as the challenges. A good schedule leaves room for the changes life brings. Not simply earning a degree but doing it early and then going after another. Or changing positions, and not just finding a niche on the pitch, but excelling there. Write in the musts. Add the fun. But the best part is looking at it before settling in for the night and crossing off one day and really looking forward to the tasks which await.
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