WASHINGTON - Former Georgetown University women's soccer player Jade Higgins (C'08) was a four-year letterwinner for the Hoyas as a goalkeeper and still stands as the all-time leader in saves and among the top three all-time in career shutouts.

A native of Island Park, N.Y., Higgins graduated from Georgetown in 2008 with a degree in biology.

Q: Give us an update on what you're currently doing ...?
A: I'm living in Silicon Valley working for a tech company called Polyvore. I love my job, the people I work with, and the perks of working for a Bay Area start-up: free lunch, getting to bring my German Shepherd into the office and practically free health care for me and my husband.

I always try to take advantage of the stellar weather when I'm not working (the city slogan where I live is "Climate Best by Government Test") - lately that's been hiking, surfing and paddle-boarding. And I haven't hung up my cleats just yet. I play in a co-ed league and coach the Ice Storm, a U-9 girls team from the Stanford Soccer Club.

Q: What are your first memories about playing soccer at Georgetown?
A: Even though I signed my National Letter of Intent months in advance, playing soccer for Georgetown started to feel real when I received our preseason summer training binder in the mail. It was heavier than my AP io binder, I remember feeling a little of everything - nervous, overwhelmed, excited and proud that I was playing collegiate soccer for Georgetown.

I also remember chatting with a couple of teammates via AOL before preseason. The upperclassmen were helping us pick out classes, giving us tips about preparing for preseason and organizing airport pickups. All of my teammates were just how I remembered them on my official visit - nice, welcoming, intelligent and most of all, the people you wouldn't mind spending more than 14 hours a day with during preseason.

Q: What is one favorite soccer-related memory from your time at Georgetown?
A: My favorite road trip was our 10-day Europe trip in 2007, my junior year. The only time I've been outside of the US prior to this trip was on the Niagara Falls ship ride when a portion of the trip is technically in Canada. As one can imagine, I was very excited to visit Paris, Brussels, the Netherlands and Germany.

The trip was the perfect balance of soccer and touring and this is coming from someone who actually loved preseason. The coaching staff found time to squeeze in stops at the Eiffel Tower and Manneken-Pis, as well as a day in the Valkenburg caves and plenty of shopping between training sessions and games against professional squads from Belgium and Germany. It was also a great bonding experience with my teammates - I still think of Ali Hardy when I look at my wooden shoes!

Q: What is your favorite non-soccer related memory from your time at GU?
A: Meeting my now-husband in the MSB tech lab, of course. He was the lab manager and heard that one of his employees was taking excessive breaks during her shifts. On the day that he went to catch her red-handed, I was coming back with her after we grabbed study snacks from Hoya Snaxa and the rest is history.

Q: When was the last time you were on the GU campus?
A: I'm embarrassed to say the last time I walked around campus was over four years ago while I was attending Homecoming. The field had a couple of upgrades and I also toured the new MSB building. Even though I haven't been on the Hilltop in several years, I am still able to stay in the know of campus developments via newsletters, regional Georgetown events, and social media.

Q: How many of your former teammates do you still talk to and stay in touch with via social media?
A: When I lived in LA, Chrissy, Nicole, Vanessa and I all played together in a couple of rec leagues. Since I moved and live a bit further from teammates, it's turned into seeing teammates at weddings, occasional emails/phone calls and following each other and the team on social media.

Q: What is one thing that you are most proud of from your playing career at Georgetown?
A: The first accomplishment that comes to mind is from my senior year and is one when we were all off the field. We were in one of the team meeting rooms in McDonough watching the 2007 NCAA Women's Soccer bracket. It was my fourth year on the Hilltop and I have seen the word "Georgetown" tens of thousands of times, but there was no better feeling when we saw it on the screen next to William &Mary. This was the program's first NCAA tournament berth and was extra special to the senior class because we had all seen firsthand how the program has grown during our tenure.

Q: How do you feel about the success the soccer program has had in recent years?
A: I'm incredibly proud of how much the program has accomplished over the last few years. The growth of the program and the quality of players that the coaching staff has brought in over recent years continues to exceed my biggest expectations.