Lisa Brinkmeyer Van Deventer
Lisa Brinkmeyer1998Favorite Basketball Memory
"Our biggest rivalry was [Southwest Missouri State]. They would always sell out [their home court] where they played and 9,000 plus people would buy tickets to cheer against us and they only left a little section for the Drake fans. We went down there my sophomore year and beat them on their floor and they were nationally ranked. To hear that place go dead silent with the exception of our busload of fans was great."
Interview, Spring 2006
Memories of the Dormitory
"I lived in Stalnaker. I lived in Stalnaker 110, then I moved to Stalnaker 310. And then my senior and fifth year, I moved off campus into a house. I did take a tour of GK last summer. That's unbelievable, the suites that they have---that's a huge improvement--- a great marketing tool. Now when I moved into Stalnaker, it was fine---it was clean and neat. When we moved to the basement level my junior year, they'd redone it because guys had lived down there and they just didn't take care of things like they probably should have. But, I haven't been back to Stalnaker in years."
Interview, Spring 2006
Favorite Faculty
"Dean Wright was very entertaining... After I switched my major, I knew it was the right fit because of the professors. [President Maxwell] came the first year after I graduated, when I was a coach ... He came from an institution where there were no collegiate athletics. So I thought, "Oh great, this isn't going to be good. He's just going to entirely forget about athletics and focus on academics." And he completely surprised me. He was a huge supporter of women's basketball team and athletics in general. He came to the sporting events, he knew kids by their first names, he had an open door policy. I can't say enough great things about President Maxwell."
Interview, Spring 2006
Sign of the Times
"There was a lot of road construction going on. There had been a few muggings on the east side of campus. Coach [Lisa] Bluder warned us to be safe. I'd walk home at night and never felt scared or threatened. Also when I was on campus that was when the roofie came around. Coach Bluder had a meeting with us before one of our practices. We had heard about it and Coach Bluder trying to be the professional figure took the time aside to tell us about the date rape drug. Half of us were more embarrassed to hear her talking about the date rape drug than anything else, but it was very encouraging for her to inform us."
Interview, Spring 2006
Commencement
"We had it at Vet's Auditorium. One of the things that amazed me was walking in and seeing the number of people graduating. To me Drake always felt small and intimate and it is. When you see the number of people graduating it makes you feel the magnitude of your class and you never do things as an entire class in college. After seeing the number of people there I thought, "This is a lot bigger than I thought." It showed how neat Drake is and how important academics is here."
Interview, Spring 2006
Choosing Drake
"I didn't want to move too far away, I was kind of a home-body. You know I was kind of homesick. Plus, after I came down here and met the coaches, visited with the coaching staff, I think it was a natural fit. And it was a much smaller school, and I wanted the professors to be able to be there to help me out, and I didn't want to be a number, I wanted to be a name."
Interview, Spring 2006
Campus Life
"We were supposed to be in, I think ... around 11. [Coach] knew we had committees we met on, and study groups ... We voted as a team not to drink at all. So, my sophomore through fifth year, we never drank during the season. In retrospect I'm glad that we had the discipline to do that because there was always fun going on. But for us to go out drinking then practice the next day we wouldn't have been as good of athletes as we were."
Interview, Spring 2006
Relationships and Events
"Probably, my best friend coming out of Drake would be Nicole McBean. She came from Chicago and I came from little town, Hubbard. And really Nicole was one of the first Black people I'd ever met and really became good friends with. I mean, on a personal basis... but we both came in the same year to play basketball and we couldn't have been more different. And then after we got to know each other, we realized that we were really similar. And Nicole and I have just been best friends ever since."
Interview, Spring 2006
Life After Drake
"I'd tell them to stay in touch with their friends. Never let that friendship flame diminish, because it's sometimes hard to track people down and rekindle that. Always stay active in Drake and know what's going on. There's a lot of people before us that have given to Drake and helped make others' college experiences worthwhile. No matter what you give it's always appreciated, so make sure to give back."
Interview, Spring 2006