Becoming A College Volleyball Player

When I was 10 years old I set my mind to become a volleyball player. Still living in Peru, I stopped playing all other sports at the age of 13 to focus on my academics and training volleyball. While finishing my junior year in high school my parents informed me we were moving to the United States. I was devastated but I was still determined to become a college volleyball player. When I arrived in Miami, I started attending Miami Beach Senior High School and even thou English was my second language, I applied myself daily to excel academically. I proved to my teachers and my coach I deserved to be part of the team so I quickly earned my position as a co-captain on the volleyball team.

After graduating from High School, I committed to Miami Dade College with a full volleyball scholarship for two years. After only 2 years of playing college volleyball, I found myself obligated to find a full-time job to help support my family. I decided to still enroll full-time because I wanted to earn my Associate Degree fast to be able to transfer to FAU. This decision ended up costing a few bad grades

For a little over 5 years, I coached underprivileged boys and girls’ ages 6 to 17 and many of them became part of their Middle school and High school volleyball teams. Some of them even became college volleyball players obtaining partial and full athletic scholarships just like I did. Within these 5 years, I learned the essence of leadership but most importantly I discover my ability to inspire these children to reach their full potential. I was motivated by my love for the sport as much as by their willingness to learn the skills, their commitment to their team and by their drive to become successful individuals. Coaching these children reinforced my ability to be empathetic and compassionate for their situations, mastering teamwork and having a strong understanding of different