Abigail O'Neill '28 Recruiting Profile

There is nothing in life that feels like holding a 12-inch yellow ball and hurling it at the awaiting batter as hard as you can with hopes that it will fly past them. Softball is one of the true loves of my life. I think about it many times a day even when I do not have practice or a game. It is something that fills my soul in multiple ways that nothing else does.

One of the main reasons I enjoy being a pitcher is that I get to be involved in every play and have control over the speed of the game. It allows me to be a leader to everyone on the field and I strive to carry that leadership off the field as well. It is also an incredible feeling to catch a piece of that yellow leather off my bat to score the winning run or to hit it straight out of the park. There is nothing like it.

Sports are a passion for me, and I feel I have learned so much from playing and watching them from a very young age. One of the biggest things I have learned is how to work as a team with people and to find ways to make things happen even when you are not the others' favorite person.

Off the field, I also love to play basketball and have played on a national level for the last four years on a UAA Under Armour Circuit team. I truly enjoy playing basketball and the different team aspects that come with playing that game as compared to softball. I was awarded the Silver Award by the Girl Scouts of America last year for a community service project I worked on to bring air quality monitoring to my town.  I also enjoy volunteering my time for important causes such as helping people experiencing homelessness by gathering and putting together cold weather bags to pass out, working to help adolescents aging out of the foster care system with by collecting items to furnish their apartments, and even providing my help at town events so that they run more smoothly. My plan is to never stop trying to support my community in any way possible and to offer my time to help others.

I look forward to using what I have learned through sports and in my experiences with Girl Scouts and volunteering as I move through high school to transition into college. My hope is to play softball for the school I attend and continue my education in business. I am currently enrolled in the prestigious business track that offers college credits at my high school. I have joined DECA and the Future Business Leaders of America to find new avenues to use the tools I am learning in class in innovative ways.

I am excited to have reached the place in my sports and education career where I get to think about possibilities that include both but a more competitive level. College is something I look forward to experiencing and learning more about myself as I continue to get older and more into the real world.