Emily Cruz '22 Recruiting Profile

My name is Emily Cruz, I am a senior at DVHS in Pennsylvania. I plan on pursuing a career in business and entrepreneurship as well as majoring in business. I began playing lacrosse in seventh grade and immediately knew it was something I wanted to thrive at. Since then, I have been playing on both my middle school and varsity high school teams as well as a club team to improve my lacrosse skills and IQ. I have received lacrosse varsity letters throughout high school and am now, as a senior, being censored as a team captain. 

Although I do currently participate in another varsity sport, as well as other sports in the past, I decided early on that lacrosse was the one I wanted to continue to play in college as I know it will not only significantly improve my skills and game IQ more than any other team I have played on due to the competitive atmosphere, but also it will make for an unforgettable college experience that I know I will enjoy. I want to be able to play a game I've undoubtedly loved for years, make meaningful connections with my teammates and coaches, and be able to have physical goals to strive for. I feel as though having goals and responsibilities for a competitive sport rather than hyper-focusing on only my academics will provide mental and physical stability that will be most beneficial in the long run for my overall education, and thus my future. 

Many authority figures in my life can vouch for the fact that I expect very much of myself when it comes to not only my academics and sports, but just life events in general. I believe it's possible for me to achieve the most audacious goals I've made for myself because I know I have the character and will power to keep reaching for my goals regardless of obstacles that come about in the process. Because I believe theres always something more I personally could do to succeed, I know everyone on my teams are capable of doing the same and putting in that extra effort or else they wouldn't be there. Every person performs better when others in their environment believe this person could achieve more; the way to do this is to have the kind of team dynamic where everyone is rooting for each other's success and thus the team's success. If you know your teammate is more than capable of making that goal- you pass the ball to them, they make that goal, they thrive off of that feeling of success to do it again and again, and than they begin to do the same for other teammates. Not only do you feel good because that assist you got was just as important as the goal, but also you know that you just contributed to team's success. If everyone is putting their energy into both the game and creating the kind of environment people believe they could thrive in, it will undoubtedly lead to success and then continue to build throughout the team. I've seen first hand what a poor team dynamic could do to its players and therefore its success, as I was once a part of that problem because I just stood by. Because of an experience like that, I do not plan on doing the same in the future. I want to be able to contribute to the team's success physically and mentally and of course, enjoy the game for what it is.