Trevor Reid

Beneath her shy and kind exterior, Kristen Denninger, a fourth year Environmental Science major, is a soccer-playing fiend. In her time at RIT, she has played 73 games, and just last October 15, Denninger scored two out of the three goals that allowed the Tigers to win against Alfred (3-0), leading to RIT’s third consecutive victory in the 2009 Empire 8 Conference. Although they didn’t make it to this year’s ECAC championships, the lady Tigers played a rewarding season, and this midfielder has proven to be an integral part of the team.

At the impressional age of four, Denninger started playing on a local co-ed YMCA team, and it stuck ever since. “Starting to play when I was so little instilled in me that soccer was a part of my life. It was always there year after year, and I never really considered not playing.” Denninger’s soccer career continued throughout her four years at Nazareth Academy, where she played for the Lady Lasers, held team captain for two years, and became Nazareth’s Academic Athlete of the Year in 2005. By the time senior year rolled around, Denninger was at a crossroads.

Denninger wanted to invest her time in a valuable degree, but she didn’t feel as if she was done playing soccer. Having lived in Rochester her whole life and wanting to see the world outside of New York state, Denninger applied to Michigan State and the University of Delaware (both of which maintain Division I soccer teams), but she kept RIT in her back pocket. In the end, the Tigers won her over. “RIT was the perfect combination of an academic-focused university but at the same time, still had a very good competitive sports program,” she reasoned. Once at RIT, she excelled both on the field and in the classroom, and the rest was history.

But there’s more to this soccer star than meets the eye. In between soccer practices, a full course load and her part-time job with Environmental Health & Safety, Denninger also keeps a zookeeping internship at the Seneca Park Zoo. Here, she takes classes and works with the animals for a full day (7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.) every week. Last summer, she worked with Kenny Nelson, an RIT graduate student, by aiding him in his behavior research involving white rhinos and river otters. Currently, Denninger is working on a project to design the ideal river otter exhibit.

Denninger’s passion for animals was developed at a very young age. “I have just always been really interested in the wild, natural world, how it works, and why animals do what they do because it’s not like you can just talk to them and ask them. It’s much more research oriented,” she stated, referring to what motivated her to choose Environmental Science as a major.

“I was always that kid whose parents had to watch to make sure that she wasn’t running across the street to pet whatever dog she saw.”

Now 21 years old, Denninger has a bigger and better idea of an ideal pet. Without skipping a beat, she confessed that if she could have any animal, it would be an elephant. With a glimmer in her eyes and a wide smile, she explained. “I’ve been obsessed with elephants my whole life. My dream job would be to do behavior research with them. Everyone thinks I’m such a nut, but I don’t care.” If she could, Denninger would like to travel to Africa to study how both wild and captive elephants develop their social behaviors.

Denninger will be graduating at the end of fall quarter and isn’t quite sure where the road ahead will lead. She is interested in pursuing a doctorate degree in animal behavior, preferably at UC Davis. Although traveling to Kenya to see her ivory-tusked friends may not be in the cards just yet, she is currently saving up for a trip to New Zealand in March. As for soccer, the sport and her teammates remain dear to her heart. “Like I said, I can’t imagine my life without playing competitive soccer. Playing my last actual game was a little mind numbing. It’s still difficult to process, but hopefully, I will find some kind of competitive physical activity to take its place.”