I LOVE beach volleyball and in 8th grade I made a promise to myself to do whatever was needed to play in college. I became intensely focused and committed to this sport. Stepping away from indoor club volleyball to focus on beach was one of the hardest decisions of my life - but my hard work and determination paid off! Last October I committed to a D1 beach program at the University of Pacific. However, this is a very expensive institution, and like many in our under-served area of El Dorado County, we need help paying for college. Looking back at countless practices and workouts, tournaments in the LA area, and missed social events, I have no regrets and would do it all over again! Nothing in life beats the feeling of being completely locked in during competition. It's a euphoric feeling when getting an insane dig, only to pop up immediately to take a nasty swing at the ball your partner has perfectly set up. After those plays, all you seem to hear are the waves, the screaming seagulls, and cheers from your parents and partner. There is no doubt in my mind that this is where I'm meant to be! The feeling is head-and-shoulders above other sports - and surpasses anything that can happen in an indoor tournament with 100s of clubs stuffed into a room with a ceiling. Another beautiful thing about beach volleyball is that you don't have to be great to enjoy it. No matter the skill level, smiles and laughter are always surrounding a beach game, be it at a random park with low nets and no lines set up, or at the Hermosa stop of the AVP tour with Olympians battling for points (Something I was able to witness a couple summers ago, making me fall more in love with the sport!). Being on the sand is just better. Beach volleyball seems like it was always a constant for me. Something I could turn to no matter what was happening in my life. The feeling of being on a beach competing and glancing out at the ocean always puts things into perspective for me. It reminds me of how large the world truly is, how many people there are to meet, and of the life-changing experiences waiting for me. This also makes me realize we are truly small - though this realization didn't come with feelings of despair. It made me realize that after graduation I didn't want to sit and look back at my collegiate career, being never able to move forward, missing all the experiences and people that could change who I am for the better. I plan to use my grit and determination earned through my recruiting process (and while competing as a D1 athlete) to propel myself into medical school as a Naval Officer. These aspirations complement my passions and values (like working hard while being a positive force in the world). A career in the military will provide an opportunity to keep improving myself and those around me. The process of getting through medical school and becoming a certified doctor will take constant discipline - but I am up for the challenge! It is a plan that may be daunting to others, but to me it fuels me with excitement and inspiration. If chosen for the Tardus Beach Volleyball Scholarship, I will work tirelessly to honor your decision and act proudly as an ambassador on the beach for this great sport.

The second I could run on two feet, my parents practically shoved me onto a soccer field. Soccer was my first introduction to the world of athletics, but I went on to play sports like softball, swimming, skiing, cross-country, rugby, track and field, volleyball, beach volleyball, gymnastics, and karate. Beach volleyball was the sport that stuck, and I am currently committed to play Division 1 beach volleyball at UOP. However, this achievement was not something I could have accomplished entirely on my own. I can confidently say that I would be nowhere close to where I am today if it weren't for my sports trainer of six years, Sharon Hardy. Sharon is a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and she is my inspiration for pursuing a career as a sports medicine physician. Something I noticed as I became more competitive in my sport was an increase in injuries with extensive recovery times, such as torn ACL/MCLs, torn rotator cuffs, and other general knee, shoulder, and back issues. Some of these injuries end the careers of young, hard-working athletes, and perhaps the most heartbreaking part of these injuries is that they are completely preventable. I was fortunate enough to have an expert in my corner who knew the ins and outs of the musculoskeletal system and made sure I was never injured. By strengthening the correct muscles to support your body, you actively protect your joints from damage that can hinder athletic progress. The issue is that while things like warm-ups and recovery are becoming more popular among athletic programs, many minute details are still overlooked in keeping an athlete healthy and excelling—such as mental health, physical fitness, and diet. The athletic community has already taught me an abundance of life skills, such as the value of work ethic, leadership, and teamwork, all of which will help me achieve my goal of graduating from medical school and excelling in the profession of medicine. These lessons are also taught to others involved in competitive sports, but they aren't fully realized if the athlete sustains a career-ending injury. It will be my personal mission to keep athletes healthy, stress the importance of recovery and warm-ups, as well as mental health and diet. Becoming a sports medicine physician would allow me to give back to the community and contribute to the excellence of future generations. While I possess the work ethic of a Division 1 athlete, the road to becoming a physician is extremely expensive, so I will be applying for a variety of scholarships to help achieve my dreams of keeping athletes healthy and performing at their best.

I was thirteen years old when I decided I was going to be a division 1 college beach volleyball player. I stood at 5'6 and was from a small town in an inland Northern California, where the place I practiced at had sand that turned your skin orange, and was in between a Goodyear tire shop, a gun store, and a Korean barbecue. Needless to say, I did not start out with the height that is sought out for in beach volleyball, nor the locational background. Additionally, most club programs have a recruiting coordinator, or coach to help their athletes get recruited to colleges by putting effort into networking them, but I didn't receive that luxury either. I quickly recognized that I was set at a disadvantage compared to the girls who were a part of well established LA clubs, and/or stood 6'0 tall. Instead of letting this fact consume me I simply accepted that I was going to have to work all the more harder than everyone else. Since I had no one to network me I took it upon myself to do it all on my own, and ended up finding random partners all over California to play with me in Santa Cruz and during the summers, LA. I sent hundreds of emails (596 to be exact) to various college coaches all over the United States advocating for myself when no one else would. This whole process took four years of daily struggle, and coaches would tell me things such as "you're just not tall enough", and my personal favorite "You just don't have that LA experience." It was incredibly frustrating for me because no amount of work could change the fact I wasn't tall, and couldn't afford to travel to LA consistently to get the most competitive experiences. I struggled internally with my worth as a result of this, and became suicidal this past summer because of my lack of success. Other elements of adversity were also happening simultaneously, such as my grandma developing life threatening cancer that she passed from last year, and my childhood dog dying shortly after. However, even with the state my life, and mental health was in, it was through sheer grit and determination that I never gave up my efforts, and I pushed forward through my depressive state and committed to a Division 1 college beach volleyball program in California at UOP. It is my triumph in this situation that gives me the confidence to execute my goals in pursuing a career in sports medicine. I was lucky enough to have a sports trainer in my corner with extensive knowledge on how to stay physically fit and uninjured during my athletic career, and I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for her. Once I become a sports medicine physician, I will be the expert in the athletes corner, preventing injuries, and being there to support athletes who didn't originate from the preferable place with the ‘right background’, or were severely undersized for their sport like me. The process of becoming a doctor is rigorous and extremely expensive, but The recruiting process taught me to have patience in reaching my goals, and how life is a marathon not a sprint. It takes dedication day in and day out, no matter your mental state or excess life situations. My goals simply can't be accomplished through little spurts of inspiration, but instead take the dedication of deciding every single morning that I will put forth more effort than any of my peers today and everyday to reach my goals.