College graduation is a time of happiness, excitement and uncertainty. Couple that with a birthday and you're in for a fantastic week. All that happened for Jaclyn Goldbarg late last spring, yet neither of those was the best thing to happen to her in that stretch because she also got a job as UMBC's new women's basketball assistant coach--before even officially graduating from Brown.

"I flew down the day before my birthday for my interview," Goldbarg said. "A few days later, I was walking back to my house from Brown athletic offices when I got the call saying I got the job. I went right back and told the coaching staff, and we went out and celebrated."

The San Diego native graduated from Brown with a degree in human biology with an emphasis in brain and behavior and played shooting guard for the Bears until injuries derailed her ability to play in her junior season. Goldbarg found other ways to help the team, becoming a student assistant coach in her senior season. She took the experience she got coaching her friends and former teammates and translated it into a life-long dream of coaching at a major level.

"I always wanted to coach," said Goldbarg. "I can't remember being able to play and not wanting to coach."

Goldbarg was a WBCA High School All-America nominee while becoming Grossmont High School's all-time leading scorer. During the recruiting process, Goldbarg noticed she was receiving special attention from Ivy League schools, specifically Brown and Princeton.

"I never thought about the Ivy League until they recruited me," said Goldbarg. "After that, I knew I wanted to go Ivy. Brown was much more laid back than Princeton, and I loved the team."

Having never been to the East Coast before, Goldbarg didn't know what to expect, but the transition wound up being fairly easy.

"It really wasn't as a big of a deal as one might think," said Goldbarg. "The only real difference is you have to wear more layers in the winter. I learned that on my first recruiting trip to Brown, which was in the middle of winter."

Most student athletes know it's tough to juggle academics and athletics, but Goldbarg discovered that's even more difficult at an Ivy League school.

"It takes a lot of thinking and planning," said Goldbarg.

The Bears tied for the conference title in Goldbarg's freshman season, but since the Ivy League does not have a conference tournament, Brown played in a three-team playoff to earn an NCAA Tournament berth, and the Bears lost. The team dropped to 5-23 the next season, followed by a 2-26 campaign during which Goldbarg made the difficult decision to stop playing for health reasons. In her final season, Goldbarg helped coach the Bears in a season in which they defeated UMBC conference rival Maine.

It was after last season that Goldbarg began contemplating her future in coaching, and it was at the women's Final Four in St. Louis that she met UMBC Women's Basketball Head Coach Phil Stern. The Retrievers had a coaching job open, and Goldbarg earned her interview a short while later.

After getting the job, Goldbarg came in and had to adjust to being a full-time coach, rather than a student assistant coach.

"There is more time behind the scenes, more time being spent on basketball," said Goldbarg. "I work with the guards, and I do the film breakdown for any and everything we'll film."

One thing that didn't take long to get used to was her new co-workers, assistant coaches Billi Godsey and Lindsey Roche.

They're all committed to the goal of helping the Retrievers earn a second America East title in four years under Stern.

"We all get along very well," said Goldbarg. "We have a good time together, but then we get serious about basketball."

Goldbarg feels that she has already built a good relationship with the players and she plans on using that to help them on and off the court.

"I want to improve the confidence in all our guards. Make them feel like leaders on and off the court," said Goldbarg. "I just want them to keep the energy and enthusiasm up all the time."

As for the team this season, Goldbarg has a very positive outlook and realizes that her graduation week really was a special one. After all, it shaped the rest of her life.

"We definitely have a team that can compete for the America East conference title," said Goldbarg. "We have a difficult non-conference schedule that will prepare us for conference. We have all the tools to succeed."