Q: What got you into hockey?

ROBERTS: We moved from Texas when I was 4 or 5 to Minnesota, which is a hockey hub. They don’t call it the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes for no reason. I’d never heard of hockey before I got there, and I wanted to learn to skate. My sister, who is three years older, and I hopped into skating lessons with a figure skating coach. I loved being on the ice. One time, a hockey practicewas on after my lessons and I said, “I think I want to try that.” I instantly fell in love with the sport and never looked back.

Q: Describe your game and how it’s evolved since you got to Penn State.

ROBERTS: I try to be a very versatile player in the sense that I’ve been fortunate in my hockey career to play with so many different people, and something that I’ve learned is that you really have to adapt to what makes the line best. For a while, when I was younger, I had to be a scorer. I was always looking for the shot regardless of who was on the ice with me. As I got better, the people around me got better, I got to play with some amazing people at Penn State, and I got to be more of a facilitator. I try to be versatile, dishing it and making sure [my teammates] get their plays. I don’t always need to be taking the shot. It’s helped me to learn the game differently and grow so much as a player.

Q: The team has had a lot of success since you’ve been here. What do you need to do to take that next step and go further in the NCAA Tournament?

ROBERTS: I think it’s just consistency and building every game and every practice. We’ve got a younger team this year, but everyone is so talented and so skilled; I think this is the most puretalent we’ve ever had. I think it’s making sure that at the end of the season, our younger players feel more comfortable and can play like an experienced team— that’s huge, because experience is going to take you far in the playoffs.

Q: Can you tell me a little about your work as a coach with MN Unbounded?

ROBERTS: Going into my sophomore year, two of my former coaches had invited me to attend a couple practices of a camp called Minnesota Unbounded, which is where you take kids, typically minorities, and teach them to skate and give them gear. It started as a couple practices, and I loved it, so I started working with them all summer. It was so great to give back. Minorities don’t have a huge place in hockey right now, so showing them that they can achieve a high level of hockey from wherever they are is kind of what I took from it, and what I wanted to give back.It grounded me a lot and made me realize why I play.

Q: What do you plan to do after graduating?

ROBERTS: Right now, I’m looking to go overseas and play professionally. I love hockey so much and I want to experience it from a different lens, and I think going overseas would be so amazing. Then from there, it’s kind of dependent on how my body feels. I’m a finance and economics major, so I’ll probably go into something in that field like consulting or investment banking. I hope to always be somewhat involved in hockey, whether it’s a little bit of coaching or donating back to the school, just because hockey has basically shaped all of my life.

Q: What has your favorite class been at Penn State?

ROBERTS: I took a game theory class in economics last year (ECON 402) and absolutely loved it. It was the most challenging class I’d taken so far and easily my favorite class.

Q: What’s your favorite Penn State tradition?

ROBERTS: For the first football game, I love the band playing at 6 a.m. and waking up the freshmen [in East Halls] I didn’t know it was happening; our freshmen this year didn’t know it was happening. It’s great to hear their reactions. I feel like not a lot of schools do it.

Q: Who is your favorite professional hockey player?

ROBERTS: I have one for both NHL and PWHL. For NHL, I’d say (Colorado Avalanche center) Nathan MacKinnon. I think he is such a solid forward. He’s a great two-way player. He’s lightning fast but also extremely skilled. On the PWHL side, I would say I like the way that (Minnesota Frost forward) Britta Curle-Salemme plays. I think she’s got a great shot. I’m also from Minnesota so I’m a little bit biased in saying I love the Frost. But she’s an amazing player.

Q: What music are you currently listening to?

ROBERTS: Anything and everything, honestly. Whatever the team likes I listen to. We’ve been listening to some Nicki Minaj recently.

Q: Any favorite quotes or sayings?

ROBERTS: I’ve got a couple. One of them is Wayne Gretzky’s famous saying, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Going into my final year, thinking about the things you sometimes miss out on, I’d rather try it than miss out and think of what could’ve been. And “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.” Again, being a senior and taking it all in one last time, it truly is a gift to be here and be on this team.You can never take it for granted.

Q: Do you have any guilty pleasures?

ROBERTS: My teammate [Grace Tullock]’s mom [Sue] makes these delicious Oreo balls. She comes to the games, and every time I see her, I’m like, “Do you have them?”

Q: Any pet peeves?

ROBERTS: Probably just not cleaning up after yourself. That is a really big pet peeve of mine, and I think our team does a really good job of holding each other accountable, which I love, because I think it’s a huge respect thing, especially when it’s a shared space.