- March 2016
Personal Statement
Hi, I’m Jennelle. I’m a first-year student at College of Dupage(COD) in Illinois. I am on the tennis team at COD and an active participant in tennis since third grade. I’ve taken lessons at the Oak Brook Racquet and Fitness Club and played in many In-house tournaments there. I really became interested in tennis in 7th grade, when I saw other kids my age having fun on the courts and I fell in love with the sport after that. I remained active and involved with sports throughout high school. I was on the soccer, tennis, bowling, and track teams, but tennis was the only sport I stayed active in all four years . Academically, throughout high school, I maintained a 4.47/5 GPA and made it into the honor roll all four years. I did all of that, despite having a reading disability. All that hard work wasn’t easy, I pushed myself through the challenges and did the same on the tennis court. Through tennis, I realized how my focus is important to achieve my academic goals.
Back to my high school career, I tore my ACL in early spring of sophomore year and it was a challenge for me to get back on the courts. I feared that my tennis performance would never be the same. I overcame, physically and mentally, the challenges associated with that accident . I was able to play again at the end of my junior year tennis season. I stuck to a rigorous physical therapy schedule and gained strength back in my right knee. Now, my knee is probably stronger than before the accident. Currently, my interest in the arts is very important to me. I’m looking at schools that offer Art as a major. I also found time in high school to volunteer for some charity activities. They were simple activities like cheering on runners in a charity run or helping clean up in a municipal festival. Yet, I found these activities very rewarding and I look forward to helping in the community again. I’m hoping to find a school whose mission matches my interests and that will offer me an opportunity to join their tennis team and pursue an art major.
Recently, I’ve been able to sustain my academic goals in my first semester at my community college, with a 3.5/4 GPA. I’m also very excited because my COD junior college team, The Chaparrals, won first place in our conference and because of this accomplishment, we will be competing in the NCJAA National Tournament in Tyler, Texas in May. I look forward to discussing tennis and academics with interested coaches.
