Paul Henderson '22 Recruiting Profile

I have played sports all of my life. From gymnastics to rock climbing to soccer, I never found something I truly enjoyed. That was until I found volleyball in 7th grade, and I have been playing ever since. This is the first sport that I found myself truly wanting to improve at.  My passion has pushed me to work hard and improve too. I was never athletic, nor was I a natural volleyball player. However, I continued to work hard. From 7th grade in my co-ed YMCA league, before I could even serve overhand, to this year working hard to try and play at the collegiate level, I have enjoyed every moment. Two years ago, I couldn't even hit a ball over the net with any more power than a roll shot, but I also had developed a dream: to play in college. I knew that I wasn't nearly good enough, so I kept working. In the past few months, I have even further increased my intensity, starting to lift nearly every day and working hard to improve my vertical, as I knew that was what was holding me back, and it worked. On January 9th, 2021, I touched 10ft 4in on my approach jump and a mere 9ft 10in on my block jump. When I measured again on February 11th, my reach had increased to 10ft 10in for my approach jump and 10 ft 6in on my block jump. Due to my hard work in the weight room and my improvement in form, my vertical increased incredibly quickly. 

Although I love volleyball and spend a lot of my time playing, I also have a strong focus on academics and a few other hobbies. First of all, I have maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout my first few years of high school, and this year, my junior year, I enrolled in the running start program which allows me to attend the nearby community college full time and receive both college and high school credit for those classes. The program also lets students attain their associate's degree at the same time they graduate. I chose to enroll in this program because I am academically motivated and I was unsatisfied with the rigor of my high school's classes. I hope to pursue a STEM field in the future so I have been focusing on taking mathematics this year. I took Calculus 1 fall quarter in 2020 and got an A. In the winter quarter I am now taking Calculus 2 and doing well, and I plan to take Calculus 3 in the spring.

Outside of school I also find myself enjoying photography and mountain biking. I have built a small business with my photography, doing multiple real estate shoots and a few portraits shoots as well. I am actively pursuing expanding this business and building it into a stronger stream of income. Feel free to view my photos on Instagram at @pauls.photographs. I also love mountain biking. It is a great way to get cardio in and it is very fun. During the summer I often go on trips to specific trails around Washington state.