REBECCA VILLARREAL '21 Recruiting Profile

When I started playing tennis in 7th grade, I was not sure of my skills or leadership. I realized my love for tennis in 8th grade when I had to make a decision for what I was going to do in my high school career. Starting my freshman year, I began to meet my great teammates that believed in my skills and helped me discover my different levels of leadership as well as went along with me as my partner and I won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in mixed doubles. Because of my teammates, I was able to foster and grow my skills, not just in tennis, but with the other organizations I am involved in. Tennis has taught me that to be successful, I need to keep my focus on what is important. I am currently involved in 5 different activities, along with my school work, being an active member in my community, and helping my family as the eldest child. My college goal is to complete my Bachelor degree in Communications of sciences and disorders and my Masters degree in Speech language pathology . My interest in Speech Therapy came about when my baby brother was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma, which is a rare cancer in the retina. Because of the treatment for his diagnosis there was a possibility of it affecting his hearing as well as his speech and he needed to get tests done. I was able to shadow an Audiologist and see how their procedures worked, it was amazing. I want to be able to include tennis in my life, now and in the future, because it has brought me a second joy that I didn't know i needed.