Julia Whiting-Reed '19 Recruiting Profile

     My freshman year, volleyball sounded fun so I decided to show up to tryouts. I did not know what an impact it would have on me.  I did not know anything about volleyball and I played on the freshman team.  At the beginning of the season I couldn’t even serve the ball over the net.  The next year I made varsity on the most competitive varsity team we had in my 4 years.  My coach was not easy on us.  We woke up every Saturday before the sun was up to go workout with our personal trainer which was then followed by practice. It was six days a week and at least three hours a day. Coach Hill(my high school coach) taught me so many important lessons that were often hard to learn. She taught me that 15 minutes early is on time and 14 minutes early is late, that hard work can beat talent when talent doesn’t work hard, what it means to be part of a team, and as a captain she taught me that leaders put in extra work to uplift their TEAM and they do it because they want to. Seeing how far I’ve grown in these past 4 years(that have flown by), makes me push myself to grow even more in the next four. 

     Outside of volleyball I’m heavily involved in church and music. I’ve been playing the violin for almost 7 years now and have participated in honors orchestra, the Midwest clinic, and have received superior ratings at numerous festivals and solo ensembles. Balancing all of this with family and friends has not been easy and I have often struggled but it has been worth it. It has increased my love for people and their abilities and talents. It has taught me to be so much more appreciative of the little things that people do for me. I am very excited to take what I’ve learned and apply it to the next stage in my life and to everyday strive to be a better version of myself!