When Lily Schmitt started to look for colleges, she cast a wide net and considered a number of schools. Some of them were close to home, some would have provided more of an adventure away from home. Some were big schools and some were on the smaller side of the spectrum.

In the end, the recent Emmaus High School graduate found her perfect fit at Dickinson College in Carlisle.

“The distance from home wasn’t a big factor at first, but now that I made my decision, I’m glad that I’m staying pretty close to home,” said Schmitt. “I can come home for weekends now and then and get to spend more time with my family than I would have if I went further away.”

Schmitt will continue her soccer career at Dickinson and the emphasis on academics by the coaching staff caught Schmitt’s attention. She’ll enter Dickinson undecided on her major, but leaning toward a degree in the business field.

“Their coach [Ted Zingman] made it really clear that soccer is important, but after all, college is for learning and that’s the most important thing,” said Schmitt. “I liked that approach and was really impressed with the entire staff and loved meeting the players.”

Schmitt’s decision was cemented when Zingman reached out to her by phone and invited her to spend a couple days on campus. Schmitt got to make the overnight trip and even attend a class. Getting to see the campus and have a taste of what life at Dickinson might be like for her quickly erased other schools from her list and to led her decision to join the Devils soccer team.

“The class sizes aren’t too big and I really liked that. I felt like if I needed to get one-on-one help for a class, the professors would be available,” Schmitt said. “I like that idea and having time to spend with the other players and seeing how beautiful the campus is really meant a lot to me. After that trip I had pretty well made my decision.”

Schmitt is leaving a soccer program at Emmaus that has continued to grow and get better with each passing season. Looking back, she has one memory that stands out above the rest and came in her senior season when the Hornets ended the 70-game East Penn Conference winning streak of the rival Parkland Trojans.

“I think everyone on that team will have that same feeling about that game,” Schmitt said with a chuckle. “That was so big for all of us because we had been trying to beat them for so long and just couldn’t get there. Then to not only win, but realize we had snapped that streak, it was great. I think we all have that same feeling about that game and if you ask around, that will likely be the biggest memory for a lot of the players.”

As for the fall, plans are still up in the air for whether classes will be on campus or online and whether fall sports will be played. For now, the school is planning on on-campus classes with what its calling a “winter pause” that will see students leave earlier than normal for the fall semester. Sports are also slated to go on for the fall season. Of course, everything is subject to change based on the status of the coronavirus outbreak.

“It’s difficult to have all this going on, but I hope that we can have everything go well,” Schmitt said. “I’m really looking forward to going there in August and getting into a routine, so I hope that doesn’t get interrupted.”