Aug. 19, 2009
Freshman middle blocker Anna Drewry sat down with purduesports.com for a quick chat about arts and craft, her favorite things and her unique sense of humor.
You say you have high standards for yourself and others. Is that part of what brought you to Purdue?
I'd say so. I mostly just set high standards for myself and every once in a while I just forget that I set them for myself and accidently set them for other people. I have such high expectations that sometimes that puts pressure on other people, but I am working on that.
One of your goals for the year is to meet Coach Shondell's expectations. Tell me about how that is developing.
Before I had actually physically come to Purdue, I wasn't exactly sure what those expectations were, but they are becoming more clear to me now. (For instance,) he is not expecting me to become the next Stephanie Lynch this year, but over time. That is quite a relief because she is a very powerful person and I have a lot of work to do.
You also mention you have a goal to beat Penn State this season.
I feel like there is always a Penn State-like team no matter what level you are at and I've never actually gotten the opportunity to knock that team off its pedestal. They just carry themselves with this comfort. Some people are intimidated by it, but I just want the opportunity to take things out from underneath them.
Do you think that is an achievable goal?
I think all of the freshmen are working really hard to develop the tradition that everyone is talking about. Right now, we are just taking baby steps. We are all coming into the gym a little tired, but pushing through it and learning each day. I think if we just keep on that track, and, honestly, if we stay humble and think we have to work for every single little step then it will all come in time.
You play your first collegiate match in just over a week. Are you excited?
I do? As you can tell, I am not too informed on that. I have just been taking each day at a time because there is a lot of stuff going on right now. But, I am sure as it approaches, I will become more and more excited. Right now, I am just trying to get the basics down so that I am prepared.
When you found out you were named as a High School All-American for the Class of 2009, how did you feel?
It was like a month after the season was over and my coach pulled me out of class. It was my first period class and we had just gone over all of the answers for a quiz we were about to take. I walked outside and (my coach) told me that I got All-American. I walked back into the classroom and even though I had just been told all of the answers by my teacher, and there were only eight, I complete forgot them and almost failed the test. I couldn't focus at all. I had no idea and didn't expect it.
Since my sophomore year, I had been compared to Mary Baytis, who also was an All-American from Clark High School. Her team had a lot more success than mine, but I feel completely honored to be an All-American like she was.
You say that the 2012 Olympics in London is one place you would like to visit. Would you like to be playing volleyball there or just visiting?
I would like to play in it. I think that this entire process through Purdue volleyball is going to be a trip. I have no idea what kind of athlete I am going to be toward the end, but I just know that if I keep working and working each day, I am going to develop. Maybe I will be good enough at that point to hold my own and go through whatever hoops they have for me. That would be nice. It would be a great finish to my career.
Moving on to something people don't know about you... Tell me about how you got into arts and crafts.
My mom remarried and my dad had remarried and with all the shuffling around and moving houses, I never actually got to make friendships with kids around my neighborhood. I did have a pretty solid neighborhood until I was about 10 and then everything got uprooted and moved, so it was more difficult to re-associate myself. My mom noticed that I was spending more time inside and was sad, so she handed me a box of string and some instructions. I fiddled with it until I figured it out.
What kinds of things do you make?
I can make all of those bracelets made out of string or hemp. I can also knit and sew. I can do just about everything.
What is the best project you have ever done?
I remember when I was in elementary school, they had this contest where you were supposed to draw a really ironic picture. I drew a butterfly in outer space, overlapping the moon with earth in the corner. That won some state competition, even though I was just coloring.
Let's talk about your favorite things... What is your favorite thing about the movie Forest Gump?
He is humble. Even though he accomplished so much in his life, at the end of it, it is still little things that he wanted, like love. He wasn't focused on accomplishing all of the incredible things that he did and it never went to his head. I like that he is humble the whole time.
What about the Kite Runner makes it your favorite book?
It just expresses a really different perspective. It makes you appreciate everything you have, because it is about this guy who lives with doubt his entire life and he has to go out and try to make up for it later on. I think it gives a message that if you ever have a skeleton in your closet, just get it over with because you can't carry it around your entire life. It also opens your eyes to more than just the little things that might be bothering you. There are also biggest issues.
Tell me about your favorite quote by Dr. Seuss - "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter."
My mom likes to put little signs around the house, like timeout corners. They are little heart-shaped plaques that she puts up on the wall. She put that one in our bathroom. Ever since I was little, she raised me to stand up for myself and always be myself, because if you are trying to change for somebody else, you are never really going to be completely comfortable. She just raised me with that mindset. I don't consciously apply it to life, but it is in the shuffle.
You say your Mom and Pop are keen on giving advice. Is that quote something they might say to you?
It is not necessarily something they would say. It is something that is understood. They say a lot with a little when they give me advice. They give me reality checks when I need it. When I am in panic mode over a test or I am on the sofa and take down the clock because it is so irritating and I am trying to read, they tell me to calm down and keep me in check.
You say you are not superstitious, but is there anything you do before every game?
Visualization. If you can't see it happening and you don't have a vision of it, it is not really going to happen. If you don't know what you are aiming for, you are kind of shooting in the dark and aren't really going to accomplish much.
Speaking of accomplishing something... tell me how you feel after a great block.
Like Tiger Woods with a 30-foot putt. You can't hold it in. You just scream. Everything is just going right. You just turn around and pump up all your teammates. It is genuine excitement; it isn't fake at all.
You seem pretty even keeled though. Are you a different person on the court?
If things are going my way, then I am definitely very loud. Sometimes I don't think I am aware of it. I just recently watched myself on film for the first time after the All-American game and I actually got a little more excited than I ever thought I did. I guess there is an alternate personality there somewhere. It is a different world when you are playing.
You like Goofy, Tom Hanks and Seinfeld. Would it be fair to say that enjoyment and laughter are important to you?
I would go with a solid yes on that one. I think if I am not having fun or laughing, than whatever I am doing is not worth it. So, I feel like no matter what you do, you need to enjoy it.
You also say you are a smartalec. How does that project itself and how else would you describe yourself?
I would describe myself otherwise as a dork, because if you don't get my smartalec sense of humor, then it is just awkward and that makes me a dork. It is after I get more comfortable with people that the smartalec side of me comes out. My mom has seen it a million times and so has my dad, but people I am just meeting here are in for a really good treat.
So, you have to tell me how you got the nickname "Boom Boom."
I am not entirely certain. I have heard a couple of different stories. Apparently, Coach Shondell used to have a teammate that was known as Boom Boom, because when he would hit the ball, it would make a really loud thud and when it hit the floor it would make another loud thud.
The other story that I have heard is that my dad apparently was on the sidelines at one of my games and Dave was around him. I guess I had gotten a kill and my dad supposedly yelled out "Yeah, Boom Boom." So, I guess maybe my dad dubbed me Boom Boom.
Finally, roll the clock ahead four years from now. What do you hope to have accomplished at Purdue?
I haven't really though about that. I just stepped out of my senior year of high school and I wish so badly that our underclassmen, who had so much potential, had realized that and used it to our advantage so my senior year could have been more enjoyable. And, that is what I am really trying to accomplish here.
It seems like just the other day that my season ended and I wish there was more to it. So, right now, my only goal is to make the seniors' last year well worth all the grunt work they have done before.
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