When the time came to apply to college, Scherf—who is interested in environmental policy—liked Harvard’s Environmental Science and Public Policy concentration and, as a result, she decided to pursue her passion in Cambridge.

“I feel really strongly about issues of conservation, and environmental policy addresses all of these issues,” Scherf said.

Scherf also enjoyed her recruitment visit to Harvard during the fall of her senior year in high school.

“When I visited I liked everything—the people, the academic opportunities, the athletic opportunities, just the whole atmosphere that I wanted to be part of,” Scherf said.

Upon her arrival in Cambridge in September, Scherf first met one of her teammates on the Cross-Country team, freshman Shari Grossman, as they trekked through the mountains of the Northeast as part the First Year Outdoor Program.

“I’m glad I got to meet her before we started practicing because I got to know her outside of running,” Grossman said. “She’s pretty outdoorsy. She likes camping and that kind of stuff.”

Scherf will show this “outdoorsy” side more during the summer, when she will work at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.

“I’ve always loved the outdoors—camping, hiking, rock climbing, skiing, biking,” Scherf said.

“I was in Colorado this summer and it was absolutely beautiful. I found this job on the internet and knew I wanted to go back.”

As for the future, Scherf, who is currently 18 years of age, is interested in training for such events as marathons and possibly the Summer Olympic Games.

“From my experience from the world championships in France and talking to the senior athletes who competed in the Olympics, it’s definitely something I’d want to try and do for a couple of years,” Scherf said.

However, Scherf emphasized that she wants to give herself time to accomplish these lofty goals. She plans to focus only on the immediate future, and to take things one step at a time.

“I’ll see how I feel after NCAAs is done and judge from there,” Scherf said in reference to running a marathon this year.

“There are always great opportunities [during the offseason].”

Another key concern for Scherf right now is avoiding becoming injured. This worry comes from the fact that she has alread dealt with injury while at Harvard.