My goal since I can remember was to earn a sports scholarship to pay for college especially since my parents were not able to pay for me to go. Even very young I was a natural and excelled at sports especially pitching in softball. Since I am from a small town we knew that I would have better opportunities if I played for a large organization. We found a team to play for but had to travel over 2 hours one way to practice twice a week on top of private hitting and pitching lessons and keeping a 4.0 GPA. But I did it and my goal was coming true. In 7th grade after a college showcase, I received my first letter of interest and it was from a D1 college saying I could make their program a powerhouse. A pitcher is a position that is a top recruit in that sport and most pitchers are offered a full ride. But then I turned 14 and everything changed. I no longer wanted to play softball but wanted to play volleyball. That decision was so hard especially telling my parents because of all the time and money spent on softball and knowing that it would pay for college. The challenge became now how do I earn a scholarship in volleyball, well I didn't. I play for a volleyball club team in our small town and play the position of libero because of my height. Libero's are usually given offers as a walk-on, meaning no athletic money. So here I am, a first-generation, 4.6 GPA student who only achieved half my goal. I was accepted into APU and earned a spot on the volleyball team but now need to find scholarships to help me pay the large cost of a private college. Because of the position I play and covid shortening my recruiting time, there were not a lot of opportunities available. All my volleyball offers have been from private colleges with large price tags. Having a top GPA offers merit scholarships, but they do not cover all college expenses. I am hoping that this scholarship can help me with finishing my college goal of paying for college while playing a sport I love instead of taking the easier route of playing a sport just because I was good at it and knew it would have an athletic scholarship.

I was talented at basketball, softball, volleyball, track and field, and soccer. When I was very young I loved softball the most. As I got older, I wanted to take my play to the next level, so my parents took me to play on a club team far away from our small town. We traveled over two hours one way to practice at least two days a week, had private pitching and hitting lessons, and tournaments. My dream of going to college on an athletic scholarship was quickly becoming a reality. I started getting recruited at 12. My parents were excited that not only was I going to go to college, but I had a way to pay for it while playing a sport I loved since they were not able to pay. Well, at the age of 14 I decided I did not want to play softball anymore but wanted to play volleyball. This was the hardest conversation I have ever had with my parents because of all the money spent, time on the field, private lessons, tournaments, and having the security of getting a scholarship to pay for college. This meant I had to start all over in the college recruiting process. Volleyball recruiting as a libero was not as easy as it was as a pitcher in softball not to mention the chaos of covid. But, I did receive a college offer as a recruited walk-on, but that means no athletic scholarships money. That definitely was a huge blow and setback. My athletic talents did get me a walk-on offer from Azusa Pacific University, now I need to find scholarships. Being that I am a first-generation talented athletic student with a high GPA I am hoping someone notices my talent and all my years of hard work.

My inspiration to succeed comes from my younger self's dreams and determination. When I was little people could tell that I was naturally gifted at sports. It didn’t matter what sport it was, I would go out and excel. So at a young age playing a sport in college came up a lot. There was always the known fact that playing a sport was one of the only ways I would pay for my education since my parents weren’t able to. It seemed as though I’ve always had a hunger to be the best and succeed at whatever I did be it sports, grades, or work. I have succeeded in school and in every sport, I have played. From being MVP to breaking records, to high academic awards, to getting recruited. I’ve played five different sports in my life. Basketball, softball, volleyball, track and field, and soccer. The sport I loved most at first was softball. I played softball when I was 7 years old and when I was about 11, I wanted to take my play to the next level. So my parents brought me to try out for a club team two hours away from Morro Bay. I ended up earning a spot on the team and continuing my softball journey for the next four years. I traveled over two hours to practice at least two days a week, had private pitching and hitting lessons, and had tournaments every other weekend in places like Oregon, Las Vegas, Reno, Colorado, L.A., etc. My biggest dream of going to college on an athletic scholarship was quickly becoming a reality. Because I was a successful pitcher, at the age of 12 I started getting recruited at a D1 level. My parents were so excited that not only was I going to have the ability to go to college, but I had a way to pay for it while playing a sport I loved. Well, as we all know teenage years are tough and at the age of 14 I decided I didn’t want to play softball anymore, I wanted to play volleyball in college. To say the least, this was the hardest conversation I have ever had with my parents because, after all the time, energy, and money we spent in the car, on the field, at practice, at private lessons, and traveling to many tournaments and having the security of definitely getting a scholarship to pay for college, I decided to go with my heart and softball was no longer in my heart. With all my hard work I have officially been offered a recruited walk-on position on Azusa Pacific's University's volleyball team. But as I was afraid there is no athletic scholarship available at my position. So here I am a first-generation, high academic, and hard-working girl trying to get as many scholarships to complete my dream so I can inspire other young girls to follow their hearts no matter how hard the journey may be.

I practice self-care on a daily basis by eating right and getting exercise. These practices not only help me physically for my pursuit of college volleyball, but it also helps me mentally. Physical activity is a great outlet to keep the mind clear and stress down. I appreciate the fact that I can stay healthy by playing and conditioning for a sport I love to play. I have played sports my entire life and hope because of that I now have a lifetime skill of how to take time for self-care.

I have wanted to go to college, for a sport, ever since 7th grade. Hard work, dedication, and a strong mindset is what is needed to have the drive for pursuing sports in college. I started my college search in Middle School for softball but changed paths when I fell out of love and fell in love with volleyball. I started my recruiting journey for volleyball my Freshman year. I felt as though I was starting my recruiting process late because in softball girls were already getting recruited when they were in 7th grade. I have a list of schools that I emailed and there are at least 200 colleges on that list. In my sophomore year of High School for my club season, I was so excited to play with a strong team and be able to get in front of coaches and finally be able to start talking to coaches. A couple of months into that season COVID hits. I lost one of the biggest years for recruiting. I didn’t think it was going to affect me that much until later into COVID I noticed I wasn’t getting emails back from any colleges. I kept worrying that no college would want me or need a Libero on their team. I kept in contact with the colleges I had been emailing and kept emailing as many colleges as I could. At least 70 colleges turned me down, and many other coaches were not emailing me back. A year of getting turned down, being ghosted by coaches, and not knowing if my dream were to ever come true gave me the motivation I needed everyday to finally earn my goal of getting accepted into Azusa Pacific University while also playing for their volleyball team.

Hi, I am a first-generation with a high GPA and an athlete that went through a long and crazy road to get to where I am. I was offered a roster spot on the APU volleyball team and I am excited beyond words for the opportunity. The long story is that I was on a path of being a pitcher in softball and receiving a full ride, but decided I wanted to play volleyball instead. With the late change in a sport where I am considered short and Covid making everything difficult especially in recruiting I am honored to be able to play, but did not receive an athletic scholarship.

My goal since I can remember was to pay for college by playing a sport especially since my parents were not able to. I was a natural at sports especially pitching in softball. Since I am from a small town we knew that I would have better opportunities if I played for a large organization. We found a team to play for but had to travel over 2 hours one way to practice twice a week on top of private hitting and pitching lessons and keeping a 4.0 GPA. But I did it and my goal was coming true. In 7th grade after a college showcase, I received my first letter of interest and it was from a D1 college saying I could make their program a powerhouse. A pitcher is a position that is a top recruit in that sport and most players are offered a full ride. But then I turned 14 and everything changes. I no longer wanted to play softball but wanted to play volleyball. That decision was so hard especially telling my parents because of all the time and money spent on softball and knowing that it would pay for college. I play for a volleyball club team in town and play the position of libero because of my height. Libero's are usually offered as a walk-on, meaning no athletic money. So here I am, a first-generation, 4.6 GPA student who only achieved half my goal. I was accepted into APU and a spot on the volleyball team. Because of my position and covid, there were not a lot of opportunities available. My offers have been from private colleges with large price tags. Merit scholarships do not cover all expenses so I am hoping that this scholarship can help with part of my college goal.

I played many sports in my life. Basketball, softball, volleyball, track and field, and soccer. I loved softball the most. I have played softball since I was 7 years old. When I was older, I wanted to take my play to the next level, so my parents brought me to play on a club team two hours away from our small town. I traveled two hours to practice at least two days a week, had private pitching and hitting lessons, and had tournaments. My dream of going to college on an athletic scholarship was quickly becoming a reality. At the age of 12, I started getting recruited. My parents were excited that not only was I going to go to college, but I had a way to pay for it while playing a sport I loved. Well, at the age of 14 I decided I did not want to play softball anymore, but I wanted to play volleyball in college. This was the hardest conversation I have ever had with my parents because of all the money spent, time on the field, private lessons, tournaments, and having the security of getting a scholarship to pay for college. I started playing on a club volleyball team and had to start all over in the college recruiting process. This journey was not as easy as it was as a pitcher in softball not to mention the chaos of covid. But I did receive a college offer as a recruited walk-on, meaning there are no athletic scholarships. Well, that definitely was a huge setback. So even as a first-generation athletic student with a high GPA, I am working hard to find scholarships. My persistence got me the athletic offer from Azusa Pacific University, now it needs to find me scholarships!

I have learned that I am very competitive very early in life. Not only am I competitive in sports but in academics as well. My sister is three years older than me and she was gifted at sports and so intelligent. She went to a higher education school for elementary and ended up skipping 2 years of math. She was awesome at all sports and ended up getting a 4.857 GPA and becoming the Salutatorian of her class. So as her little sister of course I was going to compete with her! I was able to compete with her athletically very young. I was on a lot of her teams even with the age difference. On one softball team, I was the pitcher and she was the catcher, so fun. Even though I also had amazing grades, I decided not to follow her academically, but to find my own path which ended up in sports. She ended up at UC Berkeley and I have been accepted to Azusa Pacific University to play volleyball. I had a long journey in sports since I switched from softball to volleyball later than I should and not to mention all the covid hurdles. But I knew that I could just keep fighting and I would find my way. I have competed for everything my whole life and now with GPA of 4.66 and being a first-generation college student I look forward to my new competitive journey playing for APU volleyball team.

I played travel ball softball from 7 years old to 15 while having to travel over 2 hours one way to practice so I could play on a competitive team since I live in a small town. I started getting noticed by colleges for being a pitcher at a very young age. Around the age of 14, I questioned my love for softball because I was falling in love with volleyball. I decided I wanted to play club volleyball even though I knew the change would not be the best for me financially. The challenge now was being on a new team and finding college coaches to reach out to. I knew I was late starting the recruiting process my freshman year and thought I wasn't going to reach my goal of making it to college and getting a sports scholarship. With perseverance, determination, and time I was able to get offers to play on teams from amazing colleges. The biggest obstacle in my journey was the difference between being the #1 position in softball and I would be receiving a full ride, but in volleyball, my position, libero, rarely receive athletic scholarship money. I am a first-generation college student and I’ll be paying for college myself which made this situation very hard for me, but I fell in love with volleyball and knew somehow things will work out if I worked hard in volleyball and school. I’m very proud that I earned a walk-on position at Azusa Pacific University’s volleyball team and I’ll be playing the sport I love while getting a degree in Business. Now comes my next journey, which is finding scholarships to help me overcome the obstacles that were thrown my way. Being a first-generation college student makes going to college even more special. There is no one in my family that has gone to college on either side of my family. My sister was the first and I am going to be the second. This means everything to me and I am hoping it is just the beginning of our family's generations. Not only will I be attending college and getting a Business degree I will be playing a sport in the NCAA, which is also something not a lot of people get to do and I get to be the first in our family. A typical week for me outside of school has looked the same for many many years. Homework, practices, lessons, and working. Since I was around the age of 12 I started working jobs like umpiring and referring games for the rec center in town. Then once I hit 15 I started working retail jobs. And since I played four sports and travel softball or volleyball I always had practices or lessons. There were practices that I traveled a total of more than 4 hours while doing homework in the car. Private lessons for pitching and hitting were separate. School sports would have 2-3 day practices after school also. And since I have always maintained a 4.0 or higher anytime I had left I was studying. My hunger to succeed comes from my younger self's dreams and my determination to be the best. When I was young, people could tell I was naturally gifted at sports. It didn’t matter what sport, I would excel. Playing a sport in college came up a lot for me in life. Knowing my parents wouldn’t be able to pay for my education, sports would be a way to pay for college. I always wanted to succeed at whatever I did whether it be in sports, grades, or work. I succeeded in ways from being MVP, breaking records, to high academic awards, to getting recruited. My sister played a part in my hunger to succeed. She’s three years older than me, good at sports, and smart. She was a salutatorian and got accepted into the University of California Berkeley. She decided to focus on academics instead of sports in college. She’s the first in our family to go to college and I will be second. She was a great role model for me of what hard work can achieve although we’re taking different routes in our college journeys.