College students that are lucky enough to have pets usually have a couple goldfish or maybe the occasional cat or dog, but for one Northwest Nazarene soccer player, you'll typically find her holding alligators or snakes.
Sophomore Rikki Myers has been a starting forward for the Northwest Nazarene women's soccer team for two years now.
"My parents always wanted my sisters and I to be involved in a sport and I tried soccer and was good at it so I just stuck with it and haven't really tried anything else," said NNU Women's Soccer Player Rikki Myers.
And as much as she loves her sport, there's something else that can always pull her away from the field.
"Caring for animals. I just really like animal husbandry and cleaning tanks and all that stuff. I enjoy that, probably even more than soccer," said Myers.
You won't just find her with a typical housepet.
"I'm not just a dog and cat person, I just like all animals, said Myers.
You might find her hanging out with alligators...or even...whatever this thing is.
"This is Mr. T. He is an Argentine Taygu," said Myers.
Frogs, lemurs, and...even snakes. If it's got scales, this soccer star wants to take care of it.
"My parents don't really like snakes so I was never exposed to them and I came here and he was the first snake I held and he's just the sweetest thing ever," said Myers.
She has a message for those who only think reptiles are dangerous and gross...
"People would grow more to appreciate them because a lot of species are becoming endangered and going extinct every single day and most of the population doesn't even know that," said Myers.
To her teammates, she's the local wildlife expert.
"I'm the only one on the team with a wildlife biology degree or anything close to that so it's pretty funny. If there's a bug on the field, I hear Rikki, what kind of bug is this?" said Myers.
To everyone else, she's Rikki Myers, Northwest Nazarene star soccer player, and extreme animal lover!
