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If you’re a fan of Illinois Tech’s women’s soccer team, you’re already familiar with the tenacity that two-time Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Defensive Player of the Year Gabriella Baltes brings to the game.

A force to be reckoned with on the pitch, Gabriella helped lead the Scarlet Hawks to their first NACC title and a berth in the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Tournament in 2024.

Gabriella brings that same intensity to her studies as a third-year biochemistry student.

“My experience as a student-athlete has really helped me develop time-management skills and a strong work ethic,” Gabriella says. “Balancing courses, labs, and soccer practice can be tough, but it’s taught me how to prioritize and stay focused.”

Gabriella, who is from Minnesota, discovered Illinois Tech while in �鶹APP with her club soccer team following her junior year of high school. With aspirations to become a surgeon, she was excited about having the opportunity to play soccer at a tech-focused university.

After meeting with Illinois Tech women’s soccer coach Roshane Ellison and touring the facilities (both soccer and academic), she quickly realized that her academic, professional, and athletic goals were aligned with Illinois Tech—and she hasn’t turned back since.

“Attending an academically rigorous school was an important aspect of my college education because of the value I place on having a strong academic background and my aspirations to put together a competitive application for medical school as a pre-med student,” says Gabriella.

As a biochemistry major, Baltes spends a lot of time in the lab actively involved in research, working as a research assistant studying host-pathogen relationships. She’s also a member of the (AMSA) and (WiSTEM).

“I particularly love my involvement in AMSA and WiSTEM because of the community,” says Gabriella. “AMSA generally consists of other pre-med students like me, which has given me both a network of close friends and future colleagues. I know I can always turn to any one of them, and they will have my back.”

Gabriella’s commitment to excellence on and off the field has earned her a full scholarship through Illinois Tech’s M. A. and Lila Self Leadership Academy. Gabriella has also served in multiple leadership roles as a student-athlete, including as a member of the soccer team’s leadership council, chairperson of the Leadership Coalition Committee, secretary for the National Honors Society, and events coordinator for AMSA.

“This has been such an exciting time for me to meet so many different people with so many different stories,” she says. “I love how many people come from different places, cultures, countries, backgrounds—on my soccer team, in my courses, and throughout the university.”

She’s also taken advantage of numerous hands-on, outside-the-classroom opportunities such as conducting research and presenting at conferences and volunteering at local hospitals and shadowing physicians and surgeons. She currently works as an ophthalmic assistant at an eye clinic, where she works in diagnostics.

After graduation, Gabriella plans to continue on to medical school.

She credits the support from the community surrounding her during her time at Illinois Tech as preparation for her next step toward becoming a surgeon.

“I have seen so much growth in myself as a young scientist and an aspiring physician; that is an attribute of the people around me and the people that support me.” says Gabriella. “As a biochemistry major, I take my fair share of both biology and chemistry classes, and I have been incredibly fortunate to have professors that are supportive of their students, qualified in their lines of work, and overall, very nice people. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time throughout undergrad and can confidently say that I am proud to be graduating from Illinois Tech.”