Amber DeWalt '22 Recruiting Profile

I have seen a lot of challenges in my life, overcome more obstacle than most kids my age and have grown into a better person because of the adversity I have experienced.  My biological mother is an alcoholic, my parents divorced when I was three years old, my father later remarried and I later became the oldest of five siblings. As a result, I have grown up faster and assume a lot more responsibility than most kids.

As a military family, we moved frequently and I attended several different schools. I had difficulty making friends, often felt like an outsider and initially did not fit in at school.  I struggled socially, I became more and more withdrawn and depressed, and eventually my grades suffered. When I was 12 years old, our family suffered an unimaginable tragedy when my younger brother drowned.  I found him floating in our backyard pool, pulled him out of the water and administered CPR.  Even though my brother Christian was revived, his brain went without oxygen for too long, and despite him fighting valiantly on life support for three days, he eventually died.  Christian’s death overwhelmed me with grief and guilt and my behavior spiraled out of control.

My parents were worried about losing another child and intervened on my behalf by sending me to an intense 15-month, therapeutic boarding school where I got the counseling and guidance I needed to turn my life around. While attending this program, I worked on myself, discovered my strengths and learned that I have a purpose and meaning to my life.  Christian also became an inspiration to me and remains the reason why I would like to pursue the medical field today.  

We are living unusual times these days.  And throughout most of the the pandemic, kids attended school virtually and have had little to no interaction with one another.  Slowly, the kids in our neighborhood met outside to play sports and began interacting with one another. Over that year, I was introduced to playing lacrosse and was immediately hooked!  I bought a stick, several balls and a practice net, and would practice for hours everyday.  Lacrosse was my outlet, my therapy, my joy! I lived, breathed, and even dreamed about lacrosse.  I watched YouTube instructional videos and practiced techniques with whoever would pick up a stick and play with me: friends, family, neighbors… even my yellow lab!  When I finally had an opportunity to play, I made varsity and started my first season.  I practiced lacrosse all the time and still do.  I picked up the game quickly, initially played defense and then midfield, and by the end of the season, I was a starter and had earned my varsity letter!  My coach could not believe it was my first season!

I love the game, love learning whatever I can about the sport, am open to instruction on how to improve my game and look forward to playing at the next level.  Thank you for the opportunity.