Karaline Matthew '18 Recruiting Profile

Deciding to play volleyball six years ago was a spur of the moment decision which has changed my life in the best way possible.  This amazing sport has taught me important life skills such as working with others to achieve a common goal, the importance of a positive attitude and also developing a strong work ethic.  Best of all, I have learned to not let anything stand in the way of achieving my goals.

In February 2015, as a freshman I tore my ACL.  The thought of not playing volleyball for one year was, of course devastating to me at first, yet I chose to embrace this setback as a learning experience.  I persevered by working extremely hard and pushed through physical therapy.  I am now a stronger player both physically and mentally.  While being injured, I took a chance to get to know myself and learn about my passions.  I realized my love for chemistry and how it gives me the ability to impact people's lived.  My academics are extremely important to me and my future.  I'm a self motivated student and my school work is a top priority for me.

I have been fortunate to play club volleyball since I was 11 years old and I have been selected to be on the top Elite team since the inception.  I was asked to play up on the 16's team when I was 14.  It was during this year that I tore my ACL and the following club season I was then asked to play on the 17's team while I was 16 and coming off my injury.  As a High School Freshman I was moved up to the varsity team and this is quite an accomplishment as my high school is a 9A conference school.  This year our high school team made it to the regional finals which was very exciting.  At the end of season banquet, the award given to me by my high school coach was the "loyalty" award.  The coach said she could always count on me to do my job on the court and when she made changes to the plays she said I was always the first to embrace the changes.  One of the things that is a constant for me both in the classroom and also on the court is my desire to learn; I welcome feedback/coaching from a teacher/coach to better myself as a person.