Editor's note: NNUSports.com will be running Senior Spotlights on all the spring sports seniors who have elected not to come back for another year of eligibility.
 
Rae Young
Softball, pitcher and outfielder
Major: Criminal Justice
 
Rae Young is trading in her red and black uniform for a brown and blue one.

The Northwest Nazarene senior softball player will take the written and physical test in early June as she pursues a career with the California Highway Patrol.

"I like being with people and in law enforcement, it is team oriented," she said. "I grew up always being on a team, so maybe that is why I was drawn to it."

Young, a criminal justice major, originally planned on being a prosecutor, but after joining the public service academy in high school and going through some mock trials she realized it wasn't for her.

"The two years I was doing that, I realized I didn't want a desk job," she said. "I'm a very active person and I still wanted to do something dealing with the law, so what about law enforcement?"

She had looked into possibly working in Idaho because her advisor worked for the Idaho State Patrol. She also briefly looked into Oregon and Washington because representatives from those states would come to career fairs she had attended.

Ultimately, though, she decided she wanted to work closer to home.

"I still want to be close to my family," she said. "I want to be close to my grandma, who is my last living grandparent."

Young's senior softball season was cut short as the COVID-19 pandemic canceled spring sports. Young was hopeful for a big season pitching for the Nighthawks, after injuring her elbow in the first inning she threw her junior season.

She is turning down the opportunity to come back to NNU next year after the NCAA ruled that all spring sports seniors have the option of an extra year of eligibility to pursue her career in law enforcement.
 
To help support future student-athletes chase their goals in their respective athletic and academic fields, please consider giving a gift to the NNU General Athletics Fund.