Viannce Kirsten Sinocruz '23 Recruiting Profile

My name is Viannce.  My mom named me after Beyonce, by putting her creative touch to combine with her nickname, Vi-Anne (short for Victoria Anita).  While I’m not a talented singer, my passion and talent is with playing volleyball.  The game taught me many lessons in life.  One is working well with others.  As a setter, I worked with the different skill levels and personalities of my teammates so I can understand their motivations, strengths, and weaknesses, and do sets/make plays that help improve our team performance.  On the court, I’m often looking for feedback, listening to my teammates and coaches, observing the other team, and making small adjustments.  The more we are in-sync and share the same mindset, the faster we can respond and take advantage of the opportunities during the game.

I handle myself well playing under pressure.  During a close match, I keep a positive mindset and I encourage the same mentality to my teammates.  For me, come-backs are usually the most challenging because the team needs to find a way to change the game's momentum.  To me, it’s important to stay patient and focused.  My competitive drive comes from my strong work ethic.   I don't look for shortcuts.  When it comes to practice, I’m usually the first player to open the gym, and one of the last ones to help clean up.  While I play as an all-around setter for my team, I’m also recognized for my defensive tenacity, leading the team in digs and saves.  I am always looking for ways to improve, reviewing videos of my previous games to identify areas that I need to work more on. 

 When I grow up, I am interested in doing research in the field of Biology and Engineering.  One class that is of particular interest to me is AP Model United Nations (MUN).  The MUN course in my high school was recognized as one of the top ten in the nation.  The class helped to give exposure to the various international issues and I got the opportunity to engage in conferences with other high schools.  One topic that I wrote several position papers was Climate Change.  The impacts of global warming is a serious concern from rising sea levels, worsening weather conditions, increasing number of climate refugees, and others.  I plan on doing more research on this area to help identify solutions that would reduce the society’s carbon footprint and help transition communities toward more adaptive and sustainable solutions.  I want to live an active lifestyle, and I believe that having a good balance of academics, sports, and extracurricular activities can help me become a well-rounded student-athlete.