Growing up in Phoenix, Ariz., Charleen (Rosson) Ream was familiar with habits of keeping herself safe, including locking up her bike, avoiding strangers and making sure she was not outside after dark. Moving to Alva in 2001 to attend Northwestern was a significant culture shock for Ream.
As a youth, Ream had a passion for participating in rodeo and soccer. Ream found both sports available at the two-year community college, Cochise College in Douglas, Ariz., and competed in both. Finding a university to finish her degree and continue playing both sports was challenging. She made the decision to transfer to Texas Tech.
“I had signed my letter of intent and met my roommate and my teachers,” said Ream. “Three days before school was to start, I could tell something wasn’t right; it wasn’t where I was meant to be.”
Ream was at a rodeo in Flagstaff, Ariz., the weekend before school was to begin. While there, she met a student who had attended Northwestern the year before. When Ream shared her plans to attend Texas Tech because it was one of six schools in the nation that offered women’s soccer and rodeo, the former student said Northwestern was starting a soccer team. It was then when 20-year-old Ream made the last-minute decision to attend Northwestern.
Ream became a member of Northwestern’s first women’s soccer team. However, during its first conference game she suffered a career-ending injury. Ream’s knee completely shattered and caused muscles to separate and retract.
Many asked, “Why stay at Northwestern now that you can no longer play soccer or compete in rodeo?” While returning home might have been tempting, she realized how much Northwestern and the Alva community had become her family.
Liz Smith, Alva local, drove her to doctors’ appointments in Oklahoma City. Todd Holder, of Holder Drug, delivered a wheelchair and crutches. Brooke Rockenbach, athletic trainer, assisted with numerous hours of physical therapy. Fellow students helped her with day-to-day activities.
“Everything that I could have ever needed they got for me,” Ream said. “I felt like the entire town took me in and took care of me.”
Her suitemates in the dorms supported her through the challenges she faced, and her teammates continued to care for her throughout the years. It took Ream ten years to recover from her injury.
While her physical injury was a burden, Ream shared it was a time for her to figure out who she was as a person.
“I was forced to depend on someone else completely, and not be afraid to ask for help.”
While she never stepped foot on a soccer field again, two years later she got back up on her horse to rodeo. She felt like everything was in slow motion. It wasn’t the same.
“My personality changed after the accident. I wasn’t as fearless and I had gained an understanding of what could hurt me.”
Although Ream’s rodeo career came to an end, she finds joy in the sport through her three children who now ride horses. Rodeos remain a significant part of her life as her husband, Zac, still competes.
Ream met her husband at Northwestern, and they married in 2008. They reside in Alva with their three children: Zane (13), Lawson (11) and CarterJo (6). She is grateful her kids are being raised in a close-knit community and appreciates the opportunities they have that she didn’t, such as playing outside with the neighbors.
“I grew up in a place where I didn’t feel safe. When I moved here, it was like something out of a book.”
Full Circle
Despite her college experience not going as originally planned, Ream made the most of it and cherishes the time she spent at Northwestern.
“I made some amazing friends. My last-year college roommate is still one of my best friends, and I am the godmother to her daughter.”
In a full-circle moment, Ream shared her former roommate’s daughter is considering attending Northwestern to play volleyball and to eventually live with Ream while attending college. Ream is excited to be a part of this Northwestern journey.
Ream graduated with a bachelor's degree in Education from Northwestern in 2008, and uses her degree daily as she assists in her children's academics. One of her children has faced vision challenges, and she has been able to use her education to advance this child's education at home. Outside the home, Ream is the manager of the Woods County Rural Water District #3. She was awarded with the 2024 Excellence in Operations award from the Oklahoma Rural Water Association.
It isn’t the soccer fields and rodeo arenas that define Ream; it is the people who were beside her throughout the toughest moments. Looking forward, Ream is excited to continue to be a part of Northwestern’s legacy, not as a student but in guiding the next generation.