Varsity Volleyball

Volleyball is something that has always been a challenge for me! I have never really excelled at the sport, but my friends and family have always pushed me towards never giving up on it and playing just to have fun and gaining an experience with a group of girls I adore! Each year, I can say i have improved! Especially this year, as I have gained in my confidence on the court and have also made so many new friendships with the people on my team. Volleyball is a huge team sport. The team is only as strong as the weakest link. And our team went through hardships, but what i think was cool, was that we pulled together and ended up having a very successful season. Getting 3rd place in the state tournament! Overall, my two years on Westlake Varsity Volleyball was a learning experience to overcome hardships and work towards improving everyday! 

Blocking during the State tournament! 

                                                                     Team Photo

                                                      Grouping up in between a play

                           Scrimmage against a group of women who were past time volleyball players

                                                           Warming up before a game!

Varsity Basketball

Being a part of the Westlake Basketball Girls program has been such an honor. I have obtained so many great qualities. From teamwork and collaboration, to determination and confidence. Having such amazing coaches was such a blessing. Coach Nick has taught us so much both on the court and off and so many memories have been made throughout my 7 YEARS of playing for him. But also Coach Burt, as he is such a knowledgable and amazing person to look up to as a role model. As the team captain the  season 2012-2013, I learned how to be a leader. Having to create team bonding activities outside of the school and basketball atmosphere. I really learned a lot about organizing large groups of people and finding the strengths and weaknesses within a group of people and using them to the fullest. Through utalizing the traits we have, we were able to be a successful basketball team. Throughout my personal career I have won 2 state titles. In 2012 and 2014. The feeling after winning these titles is something I will never forget! It is amazing to work so hard towards something, and then it finally paying off. But it is more about winning. It is about the friendships I have gained and the lessons I have learned through playing a sport and having a large leadership position on my team! 

Lacey, Ashley and I after winning the State title in February 2014 

                          Passing off the ball to Lacey Signorelli during the State Final Game

Hugging Coach Burt 

My team after winning a Christmas tournament 

The crowd's reaction to our state final game! 

My team supporting the boys for their state final game 

2013 game getting ready to start! 

Defending against Immanuel from El Paso

Senior Girls

This year, the senior girls came together and we decided that we wanted to create a different experience as a senior that we would remember in the future. While at Westlake, it is difficult to have cheerleaders, spirit squads, etc... We collectively decided to create a group of senior girls (all senior girls were invited) that would act as a spirit squad for the senior football boys, and then planned on carrying it into the basketball season as well. This way, we were excited to go to the games and we could show the support that we had for our grade and our small school! It was so fun and I had a blast with these girls coming up with little chants and making posters for each of the boys. One of the main things that we completed throughout the year was during football season. Every home game that the boys were playing at home, we gave the boys goodie baskets that were themed and filled with gaterades, snacks, and toys. It was really cool that we did this, as it made our grade so thankful for eachother. And in return, at our volleyball senior night, the boys all did the same thing for us! At such a small school, we worked around the challenges and were able to develop a senior experience that I will never forget:) 

A Walk with a Pop for Emme Nees

Sadly, our counselor here at Westlake Academy had a little daughter that was diagnosed with acute leukemia a few weeks ago. She also suffers from down syndrome and is the cutest little girl in the world! As a school and under the program Project Unify at our school, we decided to hold a color run 3K at our school on a Saturday morning. To help out, I attended meetings and helped with the organization of T-shirts, set up on the day of, I sold bracelets, and also served on the color team! In addition, I was the main one in charge of all the bracelets sold for that day. So that, I had to plan and initiate what people below me were to do. It was such a fun day for a great cause. We ended up raising around $14,000 to go towards Emme and her chemo treatments. It was a morning i will ALWAYS remember! In terms of what i learned from this experience, I could say that I have developed new skills of balancing out my time and trying to manage money. On the day of the event, I helped sell bracelets that said "FIZZLE" on them, and had to collect the money and then distribute it to some of the moms who were asking for it back. I also had to consider ethical implications as this is a very serious cause and a very serious situation that the Nees family is in. I had to decide what I was going to say to the family and realize that the topic was not easy to talk about. Instead, we tried to make a good time for the people who were there, but still be mindful of the situation we were raising money for.



 Here is a picture taken on the GoPro of the color run and the runner running through the splash of color

The sign we signed and hung in Emme's hospital room 

A picture of me and a few other volunteers at the front desk where runners checked in and received their shirts, bracelets, etc...

Splashing color on two of the runners at the event 

Group picture of all the girl volunteers 

Ethan and I with Darcy McFarland as we colored her and she was a walker in the event that day!

Project Unify Picture 

#fizzleisaprincess was the moto for the event that day 

Volunteer Acting for Victoria's College Applications

One of my friends, Victoria Garabedian is in the process of applying for film school. A part of her application was to create a short film. To do this, she first created a script and then needed volunteers to fill the character spots. To help her out, I volunteered to be one of the girls in her short film. She gave us our scripts to memorize and then we all met once before the actual filming to go over lines and directions. Then one Saturday night, we met at the Tom Thumb in Southlake and filmed for around 5 hours. We faced challenges with acting in a public area and waiting around for the time to be right, but we overcame these challenges and ended up producing a good quality performance. This was a unique experience that enabled me to use my knowledge of theatre to help out a friend! Through doing this, I grew in my acting and collaboration abilities. Because we all worked together to create a well-thought out short film. I also helped out Victoria holding up the take signs in order for the process to go faster. This showed my commitment to helping my friend in her application process and had fun doing it!

Painting for Yellowboat

Our theatre department put on a play by the name of Yellow Boat. The play was inspired by true events  and centered around the authors child who passed away from AIDS. Even though I couldn't be a part of the cast, I helped with painting the set and helping the director with props. This was fun and I enjoyed helping the theatre department focus on remembering their lines, rather than worrying about set design. During this process, I became more aware of my own strengths and weaknesses and areas for growth. Painting of detail is new to me and I learned from people who were more experienced. Completing this activity showed my commitment to the WA Theatre department and how I want it to succeed.

Kohl's Children Matter Charity

This was an event that our girls and boys basketball team decided to take part in. The event with the organization Children Matter. This event was centered around low income families getting help and obtaining new clothes, books, and shoes for their children. They were given vouchers of $100 for clothes and numerous others as well! Our jobs were to be translators and shop with the families! We had to make sure they didn't go over their budget and also helped them understand the prices that were knocked down. I really enjoyed working with this charity and loved being able to speak spanish and use my abilities to help others! It was a great organization and truly showed the character that our basketball program continously strives to work towards.

These are pictures of the basketball program in action at the charity event on November 12, 2013