Alexa Monarrez '21 Recruiting Profile

    My name is Alexa Monarrez and I am currently concluding my junior year at Maywood Center for Enriched Studies known as MaCES. MaCES is a magnet middle and high school located in Maywood, CA. My primary goal as a MaCES scholar is to continue my academic and athletic career in college. I believe that I am a strong student-athlete candidate for the following reasons.

    I want to attend college because I am going to be the first college graduate from a four-year school. My academic goal in college is to gain knowledge about criminal justice and criminology. I believe that higher education will help me achieve my goals because it will make me more competitive than those who are applying to the same job. I want to make myself more competitive because I want to become a criminal detective who has the experience and has a bachelor's degree. Higher education will help me become a better candidate for my future. The reason I want to become a criminal detective because I want to be a leader for my community. As a leader, I want to protect and serve my community.  I want justice to surround my community.  My athletic goal in college is to expand my knowledge about the game of basketball.  I want to learn skills that I could use on and off the court. I want to become a better player to help my teammates achieve the goals we set. With the knowledge that I gain, I want to use it to achieve my dream. My dream is to make it to the WNBA.  Where I see myself after college would be getting drafted to the WNBA. Or if that doesn't occur I would be attending the Police Academy to become a police officer. I need experience as a police officer to become a criminal detective. 

    Basketball is a really big passion of mine because I love it. Basketball makes me who I am because I grew up with it. I have been playing basketball since 2013, I was 10 years old at the time. I started playing basketball in a park league with no experience. My first year playing basketball was difficult for me because my teammates would act if I wasn't part of the picture. That inspired me to start training on my own and I continued to play park leagues.  Little by little I started to gain experience and I gave a try playing for my middle school's basketball team. I had a tournament with my middle school team and a travel ball coach came up to me to ask if I would like to play for them. When I got that recognition I was full of happiness and excitement. I made the best decision which was attending the Wolverines ( travel ball team's name) practice.  Attending the first practice made me nervous because the girls from the team knew each other. I didn't know anyone from the team. When I arrived at the practice I stopped being nervous because they were all welcoming, which made me feel comfortable. Joining the Wolverines helped me expand my skills and knowledge about the game of basketball. Playing at a travel ball team level helped me be the person I am now. I am aggressive on the court, you can count on me to drive in and get the foul.  Playing with the Wolverines for two years helped me be prepared at the high school level. Now playing at a high school level my coaches are preparing me for the next level, which is college basketball.

    The strengths that I have that would benefit the team would be my leadership skills, my offense, and being initiative. The role that I can play to make the team stronger would be a point guard or shooting guard because of my eye vision and ball handling. I don't use my eye vision only to transition to the offense but I can use it while I am on defense. I would be a great teammate because I am going to be a vocal leader. I have been a captain for three years since my freshman year, now I am a junior. I know how to use my voice to create action. I  don't just use my voice, I take action so my teammates can follow. I want to encourage my teammates to work their hardest as if it was the last time they are going to be on the court. I would compete with my teammates to help them work harder and become better. While helping my team get better it will help me to improve my game.  I believe I would make a good asset on the team because I can play under pressure. I can create plays because I am not afraid of having the ball in my hands. I can provide a spark when no one will. I am coachable but I can take charge of a situation without my coach asking me. 

    What makes me different from the other student-athletes is that I am hardworking, responsible, motivating, positive, and sociable.  My journey in high school helped me learn how to balance school, basketball, and life outside of school.  The way I balance school when I am in basketball season is by asking teachers for additional help before school, lunch, or after school. I attend tutoring sessions to ask my teachers and peers for help. I create a schedule to keep me in task. I am a student that likes to get my work done I do not like procrastinating because that is not who I am. Once I start something I like to complete it.