Indiana University Athletics
Leikem Excited for Final Season, Working in FBI
10/14/2015 2:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 2015-16 season marks Lyndsay Leikem's third season playing college basketball for Indiana.
It will also be her last.
The now-senior forward will graduate in the spring of 2016 with majors in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She won't return to the Hoosiers for her fourth season of eligibility, instead opting to relocate closer to the Washington D.C. area where she'll pursue a master's degree in Forensic Psychology.
"It's something I put a lot of thought into this last year," Leikem said. "Giving up basketball was a hard choice, but I've decided I'm ready for the next things in life."
Leikem's decision to graduate a year ahead of schedule had nothing to do with basketball. Her skill on the hardwood was always a tool to pursue higher education, she said, and she did just that.
Now she's ready for her next career move, one that Bloomington can't help her with.
Leikem wants to work for the FBI.
***
Leikem's fascination with criminal behavior began at an early age.
Ken Leikem, Lyndsay's father, is working on his 24th year of law enforcement with the Tucson Police Department in Tucson, Ariz. He started with more general duties before getting into detective work the last 11 years.
Ken gave Lyndsay an outdated fingerprint kit when she was eight years old so she could search for fingerprints around the house. Before long, Lyndsay took one of his old badges, cut out a picture of her own face and taped it over the badge to wear around Ken's office.
"She was always very interested in my work," Ken said. "I wouldn't necessarily talk about it at home, but I'd talk about it with other people when she was hanging around. We'd go into the office on a Sunday and I'd let her basically play detective."
The nature of Ken's work required the Leikem family to live in the inner city portions of Tucson, areas Ken described as "rough." Criminal activity was common in the surrounding neighborhoods Ken would patrol throughout the long days and nights on duty.
Ken said it was important for his children to be "street smart" living in the areas they went to school and played in. He knew there were some dangerous places and people nearby, and he wanted to make sure his kids could avoid hazardous areas.
On car rides around town, Ken would test Lyndsay to find trouble whether it be potential crime scenes, drug dealers or other persons of interest. With practice, Lyndsay developed a knack for being able to pick out potential crime to the point where even Ken was left impressed.
"By the time she was getting ready to go to college, she could identify persons of interest pretty easily," Ken said. "She's always naturally been very good at the thought process of figuring people out, and that's really not something everyone has."
Lyndsay doesn't want to just stop at identifying criminals, Ken said. She wants to know what makes them tick.
At first, Lyndsay wanted to follow her father's footsteps and work in law enforcement. Then she wanted to be a cop and then a detective. Gradually, she narrowed her career path down as she grew up, eventually deciding she was most fascinated with the psychology behind criminal behavior.
That's where the FBI came in.
"I'm really interested in profiling criminal behaviors," Lynday said. "Sort of where you look at crime scenes and you try to predict what the offender is like, what behaviors they have and help try to catch them faster sort of like 'Criminal Minds.'"
Unlike the actors in "Criminal Minds," Lyndsay's work will be with real people and feature real crimes and real danger at the federal level.
To some, it's scary work that should stay on television. To Leikem, it's fascinating.
"Ever since I was a little girl, I was always around law enforcement," she said. "Seeing criminals and finding out why they do what they do is exciting."
***
Everything about setting off to work for the FBI was easy—except leaving basketball.
Leikem has enough credits to graduate in the spring, but Indiana doesn't offer a Forensic Psychology master's program. She could stay in Bloomington and pursue an unrelated degree, but that wouldn't make much sense, Leikem said. She's ready to begin her career and didn't want to put it off any longer than she had to.
Basketball became a casualty of the process.
"It's unfortunate," Leikem said. "But leaving was a school decision."
Leikem kept in close contact with head coach Teri Moren throughout her decision process. By the end of last spring, Leikem told Moren she was committed to graduating and would be leaving at the end of 2016.
"Lyndsay was very forthcoming about saying, 'Hey, coach. This is what I want to do,'" Moren said. "When kids are ready, they're ready. I think Lyndsay knew she was ready, and I'm really excited about what's in store for her."
Moren said Leikem is one of the most mature players she's coached in her 23 seasons working in basketball. When it became clear she was ready to enter the working world, she wasn't about to hold her back.
"My job as the head coach here is to support our young people and make it clear they're here to get their degree," Moren said. "Basketball is going to come after. I was 100 percent in complete support of her decision because I know Lyndsay was going to make the right choice."
Leikem's in the process of looking for a school to attend next fall to pursue her master's. She'll take the Graduate Record Exam in January as part of her final steps of leaving with her degree before heading off to Washington, D.C. to live closer to where her two older sisters, both lawyers, work.
Leikem described getting into the FBI as "a pretty complicated process" that will require strong grades, training and networking. The next few years will be full of work, Leikem said, but it's all worth it to her.
"I've never put limits on myself," Leikem said. "Anything I want to do, I'm going to pursue it. It's my dream job. You can't ignore your dreams."
***
In the middle of explaining a thought about Leikem, Jess Walter had to stop herself.
"Wait," the sophomore guard said. "Did she already talk to you about One Direction? Because she's obsessed."
One Direction, an English-Irish boy band out of London, is just one of the many pop bands Leikem is a self-described "Professional Fangirl" for. She's also partial to Walk the Moon and 21 Pilots, among others.
But One Direction comes first.
"I love them," Leikem said.
Near Christmas time last December, the team held a gift exchange where each player was responsible for buying a teammate a gift. Junior guard Alexis Gassion drew Leikem's name, making coming up with an idea rather easy.
Gassion bought Leikem a life-sized cutout of Harry Styles, the lead singer of One Direction. She covered the nearly 6-foot cutout in wrapping paper and calmly left it among the other wrapped gifts.
It didn't take Leikem long into opening her gift to realize what it was. Styles' likeness was the newest addition to a growing collection of One Direction mementos.
"She's like, obsessed with them," Anderson said. "She knows all the songs. She knows all their backgrounds. She's honestly probably their biggest fan, but then she has other bands too. It's hard for me to keep up with."
Leikem admitted studying criminal behavior and memorizing the lyrics to songs like "That's What Makes You Beautiful" don't exactly go hand and hand, but she said she loves both.
One's an actual profession she's pursing with higher education.
The other keeps her busy in the meantime.
"It's just my thing," Leikem said. "I love the pop culture side of things, but I really do want to work for the FBI one day. My teammates know that. It's two different passions."
***
Moren doesn't see the same version of Lyndsay Leikem in practice these days.
The senior version of Leikem is happier, Moren said. She's at peace with her decision to forego her final year of eligibility and embrace the role of being a senior leader.
At practice, Leikem's almost always first or second to cross the line in sprints. She's one of the loudest voices in the practice gym and Cook Hall giving instruction to younger teammates and is in the best playing shape of her career.
If Leikem's trying to coast her way out the door, she's not showing it.
"She's absolutely worked her butt off all summer long and in these first few practices," Moren said. "She's got a confidence I didn't see in her last year, and that's exciting. I'm really pleased with her work, not just from a personal standpoint, but from a basketball standpoint. She just seems ready to go."
Leikem said recognizing that it's her final season is still taking some getting used to. She said there's a sense of urgency that comes with it. A basketball player all her life, she can see the end in the not-so-distance future, which is exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time.
"It's definitely exciting to think about because I'm going to do what I've wanted since I was a little kid," Leikem said. "But at the same time, you have to remember that that's still down the line. I still have a job here."
Leikem came to Indiana to win. She may have her future plans lined up, but she's not forgetting about her present and the opportunities in front of her.
"I'm really excited about Lyndsay," Moren said. "I can't wait to see what she's going to do for us this year."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 2015-16 season marks Lyndsay Leikem's third season playing college basketball for Indiana.
It will also be her last.
The now-senior forward will graduate in the spring of 2016 with majors in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She won't return to the Hoosiers for her fourth season of eligibility, instead opting to relocate closer to the Washington D.C. area where she'll pursue a master's degree in Forensic Psychology.
"It's something I put a lot of thought into this last year," Leikem said. "Giving up basketball was a hard choice, but I've decided I'm ready for the next things in life."
Leikem's decision to graduate a year ahead of schedule had nothing to do with basketball. Her skill on the hardwood was always a tool to pursue higher education, she said, and she did just that.
Now she's ready for her next career move, one that Bloomington can't help her with.
Leikem wants to work for the FBI.
***
Leikem's fascination with criminal behavior began at an early age.
Ken Leikem, Lyndsay's father, is working on his 24th year of law enforcement with the Tucson Police Department in Tucson, Ariz. He started with more general duties before getting into detective work the last 11 years.
Ken gave Lyndsay an outdated fingerprint kit when she was eight years old so she could search for fingerprints around the house. Before long, Lyndsay took one of his old badges, cut out a picture of her own face and taped it over the badge to wear around Ken's office.
"She was always very interested in my work," Ken said. "I wouldn't necessarily talk about it at home, but I'd talk about it with other people when she was hanging around. We'd go into the office on a Sunday and I'd let her basically play detective."
The nature of Ken's work required the Leikem family to live in the inner city portions of Tucson, areas Ken described as "rough." Criminal activity was common in the surrounding neighborhoods Ken would patrol throughout the long days and nights on duty.
Ken said it was important for his children to be "street smart" living in the areas they went to school and played in. He knew there were some dangerous places and people nearby, and he wanted to make sure his kids could avoid hazardous areas.
On car rides around town, Ken would test Lyndsay to find trouble whether it be potential crime scenes, drug dealers or other persons of interest. With practice, Lyndsay developed a knack for being able to pick out potential crime to the point where even Ken was left impressed.
"By the time she was getting ready to go to college, she could identify persons of interest pretty easily," Ken said. "She's always naturally been very good at the thought process of figuring people out, and that's really not something everyone has."
Lyndsay doesn't want to just stop at identifying criminals, Ken said. She wants to know what makes them tick.
At first, Lyndsay wanted to follow her father's footsteps and work in law enforcement. Then she wanted to be a cop and then a detective. Gradually, she narrowed her career path down as she grew up, eventually deciding she was most fascinated with the psychology behind criminal behavior.
That's where the FBI came in.
"I'm really interested in profiling criminal behaviors," Lynday said. "Sort of where you look at crime scenes and you try to predict what the offender is like, what behaviors they have and help try to catch them faster sort of like 'Criminal Minds.'"
Unlike the actors in "Criminal Minds," Lyndsay's work will be with real people and feature real crimes and real danger at the federal level.
To some, it's scary work that should stay on television. To Leikem, it's fascinating.
"Ever since I was a little girl, I was always around law enforcement," she said. "Seeing criminals and finding out why they do what they do is exciting."
***
Everything about setting off to work for the FBI was easy—except leaving basketball.
Leikem has enough credits to graduate in the spring, but Indiana doesn't offer a Forensic Psychology master's program. She could stay in Bloomington and pursue an unrelated degree, but that wouldn't make much sense, Leikem said. She's ready to begin her career and didn't want to put it off any longer than she had to.
Basketball became a casualty of the process.
"It's unfortunate," Leikem said. "But leaving was a school decision."
Leikem kept in close contact with head coach Teri Moren throughout her decision process. By the end of last spring, Leikem told Moren she was committed to graduating and would be leaving at the end of 2016.
"Lyndsay was very forthcoming about saying, 'Hey, coach. This is what I want to do,'" Moren said. "When kids are ready, they're ready. I think Lyndsay knew she was ready, and I'm really excited about what's in store for her."
Moren said Leikem is one of the most mature players she's coached in her 23 seasons working in basketball. When it became clear she was ready to enter the working world, she wasn't about to hold her back.
"My job as the head coach here is to support our young people and make it clear they're here to get their degree," Moren said. "Basketball is going to come after. I was 100 percent in complete support of her decision because I know Lyndsay was going to make the right choice."
Leikem's in the process of looking for a school to attend next fall to pursue her master's. She'll take the Graduate Record Exam in January as part of her final steps of leaving with her degree before heading off to Washington, D.C. to live closer to where her two older sisters, both lawyers, work.
Leikem described getting into the FBI as "a pretty complicated process" that will require strong grades, training and networking. The next few years will be full of work, Leikem said, but it's all worth it to her.
"I've never put limits on myself," Leikem said. "Anything I want to do, I'm going to pursue it. It's my dream job. You can't ignore your dreams."
***
In the middle of explaining a thought about Leikem, Jess Walter had to stop herself.
"Wait," the sophomore guard said. "Did she already talk to you about One Direction? Because she's obsessed."
One Direction, an English-Irish boy band out of London, is just one of the many pop bands Leikem is a self-described "Professional Fangirl" for. She's also partial to Walk the Moon and 21 Pilots, among others.
But One Direction comes first.
"I love them," Leikem said.
Near Christmas time last December, the team held a gift exchange where each player was responsible for buying a teammate a gift. Junior guard Alexis Gassion drew Leikem's name, making coming up with an idea rather easy.
Gassion bought Leikem a life-sized cutout of Harry Styles, the lead singer of One Direction. She covered the nearly 6-foot cutout in wrapping paper and calmly left it among the other wrapped gifts.
It didn't take Leikem long into opening her gift to realize what it was. Styles' likeness was the newest addition to a growing collection of One Direction mementos.
"She's like, obsessed with them," Anderson said. "She knows all the songs. She knows all their backgrounds. She's honestly probably their biggest fan, but then she has other bands too. It's hard for me to keep up with."
Leikem admitted studying criminal behavior and memorizing the lyrics to songs like "That's What Makes You Beautiful" don't exactly go hand and hand, but she said she loves both.
One's an actual profession she's pursing with higher education.
The other keeps her busy in the meantime.
"It's just my thing," Leikem said. "I love the pop culture side of things, but I really do want to work for the FBI one day. My teammates know that. It's two different passions."
***
Moren doesn't see the same version of Lyndsay Leikem in practice these days.
The senior version of Leikem is happier, Moren said. She's at peace with her decision to forego her final year of eligibility and embrace the role of being a senior leader.
At practice, Leikem's almost always first or second to cross the line in sprints. She's one of the loudest voices in the practice gym and Cook Hall giving instruction to younger teammates and is in the best playing shape of her career.
If Leikem's trying to coast her way out the door, she's not showing it.
"She's absolutely worked her butt off all summer long and in these first few practices," Moren said. "She's got a confidence I didn't see in her last year, and that's exciting. I'm really pleased with her work, not just from a personal standpoint, but from a basketball standpoint. She just seems ready to go."
Leikem said recognizing that it's her final season is still taking some getting used to. She said there's a sense of urgency that comes with it. A basketball player all her life, she can see the end in the not-so-distance future, which is exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time.
"It's definitely exciting to think about because I'm going to do what I've wanted since I was a little kid," Leikem said. "But at the same time, you have to remember that that's still down the line. I still have a job here."
Leikem came to Indiana to win. She may have her future plans lined up, but she's not forgetting about her present and the opportunities in front of her.
"I'm really excited about Lyndsay," Moren said. "I can't wait to see what she's going to do for us this year."
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