Donya Ghaffarian '24 Recruiting Profile

Hello, my name is Donya Ghaffarian, and I am currently a Junior at Tesoro High School in Orange County, California. I have been playing volleyball since I was eight years old, and I hope to continue playing for many more years. From playing in my town’s local recreational league to playing on the 1’s teams since I was 13 years old, my love for the sport has only grown. Along with continuing my career of playing volleyball, I have an ultimate goal of pursuing a college degree as a political science major on the pre-law track where I can pursue a career of being an attorney. 

When adversity comes my way, I do not shy from it, instead, I take it as an opportunity to better myself. While on the JV team for my high school season, my team was left without a setter. This led my coaches to the decision of having me step up and set for our team. Understanding that becoming a setter was going to be no walk in the park, I came to the gym two extra hours early every day to improve on my setting so that my team had a credible setter. After much determination, I was able to lead my team to win our league for the 2021-2022 season. In addition to being a setter, I was also a team caption that year, spreading positive energy like a wildfire. Focusing on getting the job done while still being there for my teammates as well as my coaches are the morals I stand by while playing. No matter how hard or challenging it may seem, I took each new challenge as an opportunity to support my team and to improve myself as a player, adding a new perspective to the sport with each position I played.

What makes me different than others is that besides being a dedicated and coachable player, I help my community in whatever way I can. With many still feeling the effects of COVID-19, I decided to help out my community by volunteering at the local hospital, and providing assistance to the hard-working medical staff so their main focus can be on those in need. While providing some assistance to make that transition back to normal as easier as possible, I also maintain a good work ethic in my academics by attaining a 4.2 weighted GPA throughout my time in high school as well as maintaining a good family life as well. In all, I show the same efforts when it comes to my academics and family life, as well as giving it my all on the court.