Elijah Hartford '23 Recruiting Profile

I am a dedicated learner with a passion for athletics, fitness, engineering and music. I have been building and drumming since I can remember. I began robotics at age 8, learning the electrical, mechanical, and programming components for the next 6 years. My experience was unique, as we experimented with building our own bots and sensors, built our own competition fields, used industry for inspiration and had the freedom to be creative and explore our own ideas. We also competed in building and racing electric cars. These experiences taught me the power of planning and testing, rebuilding, and redesigning within a team, and the excitement of seeing our builds to fruition. I’m excited to expand my engineering knowledge in college, specifically mechanical engineering, while also advancing my musical education. I love piano and percussion and want to explore my opportunities, expand my skill-set, knowledge, and performance opportunities.

I have been playing sports since I can remember, beginning with soccer, baseball and basketball. Soccer soon emerged as a favorite, and I spent over a decade in club, state and national level competition. I come from a family of very successful tennis players, so I learned tennis fundamentals during grade school and played recreational until my freshman year of high school, when I decided to focus on tennis competitively.  I worked diligently to quickly developed my skills through many hours of practice, training, and instruction. The academy was very impressed with my dedication and progress and hired me to work and teach while I continued my training. I have been teaching tennis for two years to players aged 8-12 at Eola Tennis Academy. I am very grateful to my coaches and love giving back to the academy by teaching what I’ve learned to younger players. It is a privilege to teach, and I always begin with fundamentals and basics that will give them the foundation necessary for a lifelong journey with tennis. Along with teaching, I play-in with them, talk and guide them, hoping to be a positive role model, exemplifying their potential. 

Engineering, music, and sports all require solid fundamentals, practice, teamwork, leadership, and most importantly, I strong desire to grown and learn.