CHICAGO -- Stephanie Miller always shoots straight when she's focused on her target -- going to Athens, Greece as a member of the U.S. women's Olympic archery team.

"I've wanted a USA shirt since I was a little girl," she said. "I remember looking up and saying, 'I want that shirt', because it meant so much. It meant that you're one of the top in the nation. So, just the experiences that I've had, being able to have USA on my back, is a wonderful experience."

The 19-year-old from Naperville has spent between eight and nine hours a day since she returned home from her freshman year at Columbia University practicing with her coach, Ron McCormick.

"She's capable of focusing and wearing many different hats," he said. "Sometimes during practice sessions, she'll have schoolbooks here and I never have a situation where I have to say, 'Well, listen, come on. Let's get focused here.'"

That dedication is one reason why she's ranked as the No. 3 female archer in the country. Just don't ask her to detail her mental process as she takes a shot.

"I just try not to get in my own way," she said. "I try go blank and just feel the shot as opposed to thinking it through, analyzing each shot. That's when I get in trouble and that's when I start to overanalyze my shots."

Miller isn't a big fan of Swiss hero William Tell, who according to legend had to shoot an apple off of his son's head. But when it comes to her archery skills, the apple certainly doesn't fall far from the tree. Both of her parents are archers, and her brother Jonathon is a world-class archer as well.

Miller lists her hobbies as reading, listening to music -- and archery.

"Archery is my life," she said. "When I'm not on the field, I'm thinking about it, talking about it. My friends are connected through archery. So, it's everything."