“Sapiosexual” sounds like a vocabulary word destined to make an English student cringe on their midterm. For WSU soccer midfielder Mesa Owsley, the word is a representation of her passion.

“I love learning,” Owsley said. “My mom actually just sent me the word (sapiosexual), and it’s where you’re sexually attracted to intelligence. That’s definitely something that’s very true for me. I love learning and all that, and I take my classes very seriously.”

Out of all the things NCAA women’s soccer coaches have to be concerned about, WSU women’s soccer Head Coach Keidane McAlpine can rest easy knowing that Owsley’s guilty pleasure is hitting the books.

However, Owsley isn’t just a bookworm. While she can beat some of the Pac-12’s finest defenders between the lines, off the field she intends to use her studies and full class load to follow her life-long dream.

“I’m a liberal arts major with an emphasis in business, psychology and English,” Owsley said. “I’m really excited for spring season of my senior year when I’m not in soccer any longer and being able to find a job here. I want to own my own bar.”

Owsley’s father served as the marketing director for New Belgium Brewing Company, so she said growing up around that environment fostered her interest in starting her own business.

“I really like the idea of being able to interact with a lot of people,” Owsley said. “I’d really love being able to do that, and I don’t really want to work under someone. I realized I like the flexibility of owning your own place.”

Fittingly, Owsley’s favorite class is hospitality and business management.

“It’s because Jim Harbour, our professor, is awesome,” Owsley said. “He owns Southfork and Sweet Mutiny. He has all the actual experience and is hilarious.”

Even with all of her dreams laid out in front of her, Owsley doesn’t want to lock in all of her career decisions just yet.

“I’ve never had a real job. Soccer is my job,” she said.

As any good ‘employee’ does, Owsley has felt her roles and responsibilities on the team have changed over the past couple seasons.

Her management and interaction with younger players is undoubtedly different than that of a business ownership situation, but she is still gaining leadership and social experience.

“I really like taking on that leadership role,” she said. “It’s fun, but it’s been really nice having these new girls that bring a lot of excitement to us.”

Owsley still has plenty of soccer left to play at WSU, but she can’t help looking toward the future.

“I used to always want to coach,” she said. “I would probably just do little things in the community. If I were given the opportunity to play for a professional team, I might, but I really want to get started with my bar.”

After originally studying Kinesiology, Owsley was happy to find her true passion in business.

“My mom owned her own hair business and went back to school as an interior designer, and then my dad – after leaving New Belgium – owns the storied brand and does branding on his own,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to do something like that.”

Owsley also isn’t afraid to seek a little help from her business-oriented parents. She isn’t scared to let them have a hand in her bar one day.

“My dad always talks about how he wants to come in and do wine stuff for me and my mom will design my whole bar,” she said. “I’m very close with my family.”