Brittany Raphino ’23 has scored four goals in her last three games for the women’s soccer team and has posted 19 points on the season. Bruno is currently leading the Ivy League with a 5-0-0 conference record and a 12-1-1 overall performance and is set to close out the season a week from tomorrow. For her outstanding contributions to the Bears’ successes this year, Raphino has been named The Herald’s Athlete of the Week.
Herald: How are you liking Brown?
Raphino: I am absolutely loving it. The team is amazing. The whole dynamic between everyone — we did a Pitch Perfect riff-off on the ride back from Cornell. It was a six-hour trip, so it was brutal. It was so much fun. Me and the (first-years) keep talking about it. We can’t wait to have another long bus ride just to do it again. It was so much fun. The whole dynamic with the coaches … well, maybe it’s because we’re doing so well, but everything is just so nice and better than I expected. School-wise, I’m loving my classes.
What were you like in high school?
I was really driven in high school. In the beginning, I knew my goal was to play at a top program, so from freshman year I was really focused on getting my schoolwork done at a high level and also performing on the soccer field. I got really good at balancing both from a young age because I went to a college preparatory high school. Most people would describe me as determined and persistent, because I drilled into my head that I had somewhere to go and I needed to get things done. Socially, I was really close to my soccer team, and I played basketball so I was really close to them, too. I still have best friends who I talk to every week. I wouldn’t describe myself as a jock or anything like that, but definitely someone who was an athletic girl.
What’s something you really want to do between now and graduation outside of academics and athletics?
Travel more. I love going away to other countries, but I want to expand that more. My family’s from Jamaica and Haiti, so we’re always going to Jamaica, and I love it there but I want to try somewhere else. … England, I would love to travel to Europe. That’s why I was so jealous that (the team) got to go to France right before I came. I was doing a summer workout at my high school and my trainer was like, “why aren’t you in France right now?” I was like, “What?” The trainer said, “The whole (Brown) team’s in France right now and you’re here. I was like, “Oh my God.” But (Coach McNeill) was talking to us freshmen and said when (we’re) seniors, (we’ll) get to pick where we go. So that’s cool.
What’s the strangest or quirkiest thing you’ve come across at Brown so far?
There’s this guy with the snake on campus. He walks around on Thayer. I was coming from Andrews from lunch and I was walking — I was with a recruit, too — and (when I saw it) I screamed and ran away because it was a snake! It was a boa constrictor, and I was like, “What are you doing?!” And then he was like, “Do you want to pet it?” I was like, “No!” Everyone else wanted to pet it. I was staying away because I don’t mess with animals. It was so strange.
Do you have any superstitions?
Yes. I get anxious before games, so I always have to meditate before. When Beth (the trainer) is taping my ankles, I make sure she does my left first, then my right. It has to happen like that. I wear a headgear and mouth guard, so I also put that on before I do (warm up) shooting. I don’t know why, it’s just something I do. And then in high school, when all the starters were on the field and did the little huddle, we used to spit at the end. Everyone. It’s kind of crazy but it (was) a thing. So I do that here too.
What is your favorite TV show or movie and the character that you most relate to?
My favorite movie… Well, I’m a romantic snob. I love “The Walk to Remember.” I love it. I cry every time. Sometimes you just need a good cry, not because you’re sad, but just to let it out. I love movies like that, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” “10 Things I Hate About You” and all those types of romantic comedies. Those are my favorite, I love them.
What do you consider to be a perfect day?
Wake up around 10 a.m. Have a big breakfast because breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. … Then watch some Netflix, take a nap. Go outside, maybe swim. … I love swimming. Then take another nap, watch some more Netflix and have breakfast for dinner. Go to bed early. That’s the perfect day. It sounds amazing.
What is your dream job?
I would love to be a model. I would love it. I am obsessed with makeup. Whenever Fenty Beauty and Rihanna drop anything, I’m in Sephora. I love heels, and I love fashion. I know it’s more than looking pretty, and it’s a lot of work to be a model. I just can’t imagine that everyday (my) job (would be) walk down a runway in something pretty, in heels and just play in makeup. That’d be amazing. And (I’d) travel the world, too, on top of that.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
