Destiny Lee '21 Recruiting Profile

     Throughout my childhood I was often on a sports team which helped me understand what being a team player meant. At age three I played soccer while I lived in New York. I moved to Arizona at age four, I played t-ball. When I came back to California, I started playing basketball. At age nine I danced for the Hueneme Stars until my instructor retired. During Jr. High I played for the school basketball team and the school Track team. I discovered that I had a real love for competing and enjoyed the feeling I would get when I would win races.

    I entered high school playing Tennis for our school’s team. At the end of the season it was announced that I was now a captain which made me extremely happy. My coach had a private discussion with me asking me to be dedicated to Tennis meaning he did not want me running for the school’s Track and Field team. For my first year of high school I focused on being a good captain for my Tennis team. As a sophomore I realized that high school was short, and I had to live the life I wanted to live. I tried out for the Track and Field team which surprised my Tennis team. I was still taking care of my team as captain, but I also enjoyed being apart of the Track and Field team. I surprised my coaches and many of my team members with my athletic abilities which led me to earn the award of ‘Most Valuable Female Sprinter’. My Tennis coach was not happy that I had played on another sports team which led me leave the Tennis team. I joined cross country because I knew I had a special place in my heart for running. I climbed my way up to the varsity team by pushing myself hard in practices and in races. The girls’ varsity cross country team ended up winning first place for Citrus Coast League which led us to CIF. Once the season ended, I began training for Track. I was the captain of the track team for season of 2020, but Covid-19 came along. Throughout my sports life I learned how important it is to me to make my teammates and my coaches happy. I also learned how much I love to win.

     Although athletics are especially important to me, education is still something I take extremely seriously. I am enrolled in advanced placement (AP) and honors classes in order to get ahead and stay in the top percentage of my class while preparing myself for college. I plan to continue being academically proficient and earn a psychology degree in college.

     As a member of Interact Club, which is sponsored by Rotarians of the Rotary Club, I had an opportunity to attend a camp called Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA). This camp is designed to make it easier for one to open up to others, to understand and accept other people, and to develop leadership skills. Attending this camp was a great experience for me due to the empowerment and self-efficacy gained from listening to some of our speakers, thus believing I can do anything I put my mind to. Later in the year I ended up becoming the Vice President of Interact Club.

     As a young woman, I am still growing as a person although the diverse people around me have helped to mold me as a person. These people have showed me what is and is not a healthy environment along with attributing to me gaining the ability to take charge of my own life as well as take in criticism.  They have also taught me that understanding and accepting others while understanding and managing my own emotions are extremely important.