A Note from Mrs. Carter, Katherine's Counselor

Katherine attends a New Haven magnet school, which has no official sports teams. Many athletically inclined students, who would have joined a team had their school offered one, do not take the initiative to seek out, investigate, try out, and ultimately commit much of their after school time to attending practices and games, as Katherine has and continues to do so.

When Katherine first told me that she was interested in trying out for the volleyball team at one of the big New Haven schools, I was impressed. She took it upon herself to talk to the coaches and explore her options. Even though she was nervous on tryout day, she left school, took the bus over to an enormous high school where she knows essentially no one, and gave her all in a sport she had never played before.

This not only took initiative but also courage and self-confidence.

Katherine is an excellent candidate for this program because of her strong desire to better herself as a student athlete. She wants to learn and is not afraid of looking silly in the process. Even though she is only in her first year of playing volleyball, I feel strongly that she will take more from this experience than a more seasoned volleyball player.