Anytime Jen Beaumont can make somebody's time at Happy Valley better, she will go out of her way to do so.

Whether it is a hug after a loss or a little extra motivation, the senior goalie wants to ensure that nobody has the same difficult transition to college that she had to endure.

Five years removed from considering quitting the Penn State field hockey team, Beaumont is on her way to concluding a successful collegiate career. The two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week prides herself on her intensity on the field, but her philosophy and main focus has been to provide support for the underclassmen on her team.

Beaumont combines her own experiences with her duties as captain to see to it that the freshmen progress throughout the year and have a smooth transition.

"I think it's a matter of them finding themselves and putting it all together because it's a very hard transition," she said. Beaumont knows she would have benefited from having the same type of presence guiding her through her freshman year at a college three hours from home.

Jen Beaumont's mother, Liene Beaumont, describes her daughter's first years of college as "the hardest thing she's ever done in her life."

The family phone bill was extremely high, inspirational cards were mailed, and many tears were shed as the Beaumont family attempted to get Jen through her first year of college.

"I told her to be strong and really believe in her heart it was the right thing," Liene said. "The strength from within and the strength of her family. If [staying on the team] was that important to her, then she would find the strength of God to guide her through it."

Jen befriended fellow goalie Jenny Beam, who was a senior at the time but also not playing. With this commonality, Beaumont had found a comfort zone.

"It was a tough time for the both of us," Beaumont said. "She took me to dinner and a couple of other simple things.

"I always really feared the upperclassmen. So as I grew up, I didn't want to outcast the underclassmen and wanted them to have my respect."

So Beaumont has now opened herself up to the freshmen. Last week she took a group of freshmen out for ice cream off-campus because she feels it's necessary for the girls to be acclimated in their early days on campus.

Freshman Casey McCartin described how she has called Beaumont while lost en route to class and Beaumont instructed her where the building was.

"She's helped out all of our transitions," McCartin said. "She's definitely very competitive on the field. But she's great off the field, very down to earth."

"I feel like I've been through so much on and off the field that I can relate to the girls," Beaumont said. "I'm there for them if they need me."

The senior said she tells her mother all the time, "I know what it's like to be a freshman."

And if you find Liene sitting in the bleachers of a field hockey game, which is likely because her and her husband travel from Chalfont, Pa., to every regular season game, she will be beaming with pride in what her daughter has gone through.

"[My husband and I] live our lives through her and her career because we're so proud of what she has accomplished," the elder Beaumont said. "Words can't even describe it."