Bearlights
Amy
"Whitey" Hockenbrock
Position:
Defender
Grad Year:
2000
Major:
Molecular and Cell Biology
Favorite Berkeley Eats:
La Burrita & Yogurt Park
Favorite Study Spot at Cal:
Moffitt Library...finding a random cubicle somewhere and studying
Favorite Watering Hole While at Cal:
Favorite: Kingfish
Most Frequented: Kips
Favorite Cal Soccer Memory:
Beating Stanford in overtime with Reggie's (Holen) goal.....or the fight against USD.
“I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.” C.G. Jung
Whitey is an amazing teammate and she always has been. She was consistently one of the hardest working, focused and smartest players on the team. She possesses natural leadership qualities that have always been a part of who she is. People want to be around her because she’s kind, thoughtful, intelligent, talented, funny and so much more. She brings energy when the team needs to be hyped up; she brings calmness when the team needs composure. And she brings all of these qualities to all the different roles she plays in her current life – mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and CAL Sports Medicine doctor.
Whitey led her high school team to 4 league championships and 3 section championships, where she was named captain of her high school team her senior year. Whitey also experienced success with her youth club teams where she won 2 National Championships in 1995 and 1996. Her leadership, strong defensive skills, strong work ethic and her intelligence were some of the ways she contributed to her teams’ championships.
In the Fall of 1996, Whitey began her time as a student-athlete at CAL not knowing exactly what career she wanted. She wanted to major in Molecular and Cell Biology because the name was long and impressive and she was thinking of earning her doctorate. Whitey knew she wanted to eventually earn her PhD and took it upon herself to get 3 articles published in journals before she graduated from CAL. She excelled as a student and still found the time and energy to put in countless hours of work to earn time on the field. Her work ethic and determination were unparalleled. She was a solid defender, ruthless in the air and would throw her body in front of anybody or the ball to prevent goals from being scored on her team. She began perfecting her ability to be extremely efficient with her academic and athletic responsibilities while being a student-athlete. She also began realizing her talents as an amazing multi-tasker, which are all skills/abilities she has mastered and uses in her everyday life today.
The summer before her sophomore year, she endured her first major injury. She tore her ACL while playing in a semi-professional summer league game which caused her to red-shirt her sophomore season at CAL. She wasn’t about to let that stop her from getting back onto the field in her CAL uniform. She earned her spot back on the field and had a stellar junior year, but unfortunately endured a second ACL tear while playing Stanfurd. These injuries would turn out to be life changing for Whitey because she learned that she would have to work harder than she ever thought she did in order to get what she wanted. Her experience through the injuries, the surgeries and the recoveries inspired her to want to help other student-athletes. It was these knee injuries that eventually led her to her profession of being a Sports Medicine doctor. Whitey’s grit, determination, strong will and work ethic brought her back to the field in her CAL uniform once again. Whitey was named captain of the women’s soccer team her junior and senior seasons. She led her team to the NCAA tournament both seasons she captained our blue and gold.
Whitey graduated from CAL in December 2000. A couple of months after graduating, she went to Madison, Wisconsin where she took a job driving the Boca Burgermobile around the United States of America. She worked as a Boca Buddy for 12 months, traveled around the country talking on radio and TV shows about Boca products. She’s been to every state….except Vermont!.
After her stint as a Boca Buddy, life took her to Los Angeles where she worked for Big Sky Financial, where she met and fell in love with her future husband, Jeff. She took some time to live her life with less of a schedule and not having every day planned out minute by minute. Once her free spirit had fulfilled its desire for spontaneity, things fell into place and she moved back to Berkeley to begin her journey to become a Sports Medicine doctor; she was a Research Assistant for UC Berkeley and then ventured off to medical school in Chicago, where she earned her Masters in Physiology and then her Doctorate in Medicine. She moved back to the west coast for her residency at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose.
Did I mention that she had 3 kids while in medical school?! Talk about needing determination, resiliency, and strong will. All medical students need those characteristics to get through medical school and residency, except try doing that as a mother to two young boys and a baby girl!
Whitey’s journey through medical school while being pregnant and then being a young mother is fascinating and amazing. Her oldest son was born early in her first year of medical school, her second son was born in her second year of medical school and her daughter as she graduated medical school. The statistic of doctors becoming parents while being a medical student is very low because of the rigors of the program and the time commitment medical school requires. Whitey knew she wanted to be a mother; Whitey knew she wanted a career in medicine and she knew she had to find a way to make those things happen. Her path to becoming a physician is not the traditional path to practicing medicine, but for those who know Whitey, she’s not a traditional, ordinary person. She’s an extraordinary person, who figures out what she wants and then figures out how to go and get it. She chose to be a mother and a doctor and live a healthy, happy life.
Whitey is now on the medical team staff at UC Berkeley, as a Sports Medicine doctor. She loves giving back to her Alma Mater and provides amazing care to the current student-athletes. She’s able to draw upon her many different experiences and journeys that ultimately brought her back to Berkeley, right where she belongs. Once a Bear, always a Bear.
Written By: Stacey Carvallison Class of '00
A couple of things I remember most about Whitey from Cal. She was always up for a good time. She was such a good soccer player and determined student, but she also didn't take life too seriously. We had so many good times just hanging around, cooking, listening to music, singing karaoke, throwing and going to parties. She has always been a family person. She made being on the Cal soccer team feel like family. She brought us home to her family a lot to share in good times, and brought her family to us too. I still tell my kids about how Steve White would always say "It's a great day for soccer!" I think it's so cool that life has come full circle for her back at Cal giving back to the athletes and programs there. She's a Bear forever!
Sarah Conner Calderon '00
It's actually hard to describe Whitey without making her sound annoyingly perfect and obnoxiously admirable in every possible way, but there really isn't any other way to do it, she just is. Whitey shares her positivity, personality, determination, motivation, and ridiculousness in all things she does — whether that's playing as a teammate on the field, hanging out with friends, or caring for family or strangers at home or in her doctor's office.
We all need that friend, teammate, partner and influence in our life to lift us up, support us, motivate us, empower us, and be by our side to hold us accountable so we can reach our goals. Whitey is that person. And sometimes she does it with blue hair.
Natty Gonzales '01
Perhaps the fondest, yet most inspirational memory I treasure of Whitey, was her BEAST MODE mentality when we played Stanford, our junior year, at “The Farm”. During regulation, Whitey left the game with an injury. Anyone who knows Whitey, knows she’s tough as nails, and if she had to leave the game, it was serious. As if it were yesterday, I vividly recall the trainers working feverishly, tugging and testing her right knee. Now having witnessed nearly two dozen ACL tears, I felt sick to my stomach already anticipating the outcome. To my surprise, Whitey came back into the game and played phenomenally. We ended up winning in double overtime. Every single one of us left everything we had on the field that night, but one of us did it with a torn ACL. Unbelievable. Whitey was relentless, ferocious, tenacious, and her determination to win was unmatched, and something I’ll never forget. Go Bears!
Whitey didn’t have to try to be a leader - it was just her personality. She was steady through ups and downs and completely authentic. When you made a mistake or did something regrettable (even, and maybe especially, if it was at Whitey’s expense) she was the first to assure you that it was okay - and you knew she meant it. It was a great joy and privilege to play with Whitey, but it’s an even greater privilege to know her as a person and call her a friend.
One time she scored a header goal and boy was that an event!
Kim Brown '00
Brittany Kirk '03
JT '85
“Where do I start? They broke the mold after making Whitey. As a player, she was fierce battling to the bitter end for the win, even with a torn ACL at the epic $tanfurd game. As a leader, she was a uniquely inclusive, chill and respected captain who didn’t think twice about diving in to protect V from those “homie thug dudes” at USD. As a post grad, she was a supermom birthing three kids while in med school after driving the Boca Mobile all over the country. And now, she’s returned to the scene of the crime and is guiding and healing CAL athletes. I’m lucky to have her just down the street from me in Berkeley because she makes a mean margarita and still wears onesies well.”
Fun Facts About Whitey:
Because Whitey can be such a random person, here are some random fun facts about
Dr. Hockenbrock:
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One of Whitey’s lessor known recognitions is that she was voted and named the Prom Queen for the Class of 1996 at Los Gatos High School. She truly is a woman of many talents and gifts!
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During college, she took Brittany (Kirk) to a WWF event to see “The Rock.” Twenty years later, out of nowhere during the pandemic, Brittany received a package with a “The Rock” license plate frame because Whitey brings joy to everything.
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Whitey had a life size Billy Ray Cyrus cutout and sometimes Brittany would crash on her couch and wake up in the middle of the night with Billy staring at her!
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Whitey has 2 dogs (Chaos and Loca), a fish, a hamster and 2 cats.