Feb. 26, 2009

by Bryce Bennett, Sports Information Student Assistant

Picture the profile of a typical Division I athlete. Most would say they are strong-willed individuals who are devoted to their sport on an almost religious-type level. These people strive for their best in the classroom with a GPA that is always in the spotlight. Purdue junior Carrie Gurnell, outside hitter for the volleyball team, is all of these things, but she also has a passion few know about and would expect from an athlete from her stature; a passion for video games.

Gurnell says she has been gaming for as long as she can remember. Growing up in the small town of Katy, Texas, one of Gurnell's first memories of video gaming came from her parents.

"My mom was amazing at "Pac Man" and my dad would sit myself and my siblings on his bed and play video games. We would just sit there and watch him," Gurnell explained. "I probably began playing video games at around age three or four."

As a child, whether it was "Super Mario Brothers" or "Duck Hunt", Gurnell played it all and excelled at it. She got so good at "Super Mario Brothers" that she became able to beat the entire game in less than one hour. Gaming also created an opportunity to develop a special relationship with her siblings and friends. Gurnell and her younger brother Christian spent hours and hours playing against each other and sometimes the games were very competitive.

"It was always intense when we [Carrie and Christian] would play," Gurnell said. "Usually there were controllers thrown, arguments, and the one trick I always tried to pull was to turn the game off before he could save it."

As Gurnell has grown, she no longer attempts to throw controllers at Christian, but realizes the special bond they share together. Christian hopes to be a professional gamer someday, and Carrie has supported him the entire way. She even has a PlayStation logo tattoo that reminds her of her brother and the connection they enjoy.

High school came for Gurnell and her interests expanded into athletics, specifically volleyball and basketball. She originally stood out on the basketball court which caused her to quit the volleyball team for two weeks her freshman year. Her coaches convinced her to come back on the team and Gurnell complied. After some hard work and devotion, volleyball ended up being her game of choice.

"I've always found it weird that I ended up playing volleyball at this level since I never really took the sport seriously until I was 16 or 17 years old," Gurnell said.

As her athletic tastes changed during her high school years, her gaming interests changed as well. PlayStation was now the game system of choice, and she found herself trading up from "Super Mario Brothers" to games such as: "Tomb Raider", "Metal Gear Solid" and "Final Fantasy". Video games often times provided an escape from her other activities in school. She would spend hours at a time playing these and other games with her brother and friends. One set of games that Gurnell has never been interested in ironically enough are sports games. Games such as: the "Madden NFL Football" series, "NBA Live", or "EA Sports College Football" have never sparked any significance from Gurnell. She remains interested in primarily fighting and adventure-type gaming.

"Complexity of the game controls is always a big factor when I play," Gurnell said. "With sports games, the controls are very easy to figure out, and I get bored with them very easily."

When she came to Purdue in the fall of 2006 on scholarship for the volleyball team, her gaming time significantly decreased. During the season, she could not fit in the time like she could in high school, but she still tried to find time in her schedule to play.

"During the season, I don't really play a lot," Gurnell said. "I try to find little breaks of one to two hours in between practice and classes."

Gurnell has never done any competitive play in tournaments and remains uninterested in that aspect of gaming. Instead, the professional writing major wants to combine her writing skills with her hobby of gaming. "My dream job is to work for `PlayStation Magazine' as a writer," Gurnell said. "I subscribe to the magazine and hope to get in contact with an editor at some point."

What do her teammates think about her gaming interests? Gurnell says they sometimes are just as eager to play a game along with her.

"They think it's [video gaming] cool," Gurnell said. "They'll play `Guitar Hero' and we all did `Karaoke Revolution' one time. We sang the song `Pieces of Me' by Ashlee Simpson. It was a fun time."

Teenage years and early adulthood can be a time of great personal development for an individual. Gurnell has realized herself through a diverse number of things, especially athletics and gaming. With the support of her family, friends, and teammates, Gurnell has grasped what she enjoys in life.

"A lot of people think of gamers as people who just lock themselves in their room," Gurnell said. "I do not think of myself that way. I enjoy what I do and you can't waste time not being happy."

Above all, Gurnell hopes to remind others that just because you may not fit the bill of something; stereotypes and labels do not define who you are or should be.

Purdue Boilermakers

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