Melissa Gilkey, BSBA’15, a three-time All-American women’s basketball player for Wash U, is headed to Europe to play professionally this summer.

Gilkey will concentrate on basketball full time after graduation and look to sign with a professional team in June or July. She’ll then depart for international competition. Her performance at the April overseas combine — where she was the only Division III athlete and earned a selection as a top-20 prospect — has virtually assured her a spot on a European roster.

“Once I started playing, all the nerves went away,” Gilkey said. “It definitely was worth going down there. I didn’t know what to expect because there were some pretty prominent college players competing for a spot, too. But once you’re out there, you just shake off the nerves and play.”

Gilkey, who will earn a dual degree in economics and strategy and in marketing from Olin Business School, isn’t worried about the risk-return of going overseas to play basketball. When she is finished with her pro career, Gilkey will have a job waiting for her with a company called Protiviti, the global consulting firm she interned with last summer in San Francisco.

“When they assured me the job offer would be waiting for me, it was a no-brainer decision,” she said. “It’s an awesome opportunity to even have a job right out of college. To have an opportunity to pursue one of my dreams first — that’s amazing.”

Read entire story on the WU Commemncement site: Turning pro: Two WashU Bears about to embark on professional careers — on the court and on the field.