Kayla Valente '22 Recruiting Profile

The biggest influences in my life have been my parents. They both started out with very little, but have grown to become wildly successful. Their attitudes of determination and persistence have greatly shown me that if I put my mind to something, I can accomplish it. This same ideal is applied to my volleyball career. I was never originally interested in highly competitive volleyball until my freshman year of high school. I ended up starting varsity, and even went to state that year. Since then, my whole viewpoint has changed. I began putting in a lot of work in during the off season. I did a numerous amount of camps, doubles tournaments, and a  sand volleyball league. I grew exponentially in just three months. I truly began to believe in myself and started on my journey to college volleyball. Through this whole experience, I learned how crucial the mental game is. It changes how you perform during a game, and how good or bad the results are. I have gone through rough patches in games where I let my mind take over. Now, I put positive thoughts in my brain, and gain energy from teammates when they get a good kill or ace. With the mental game, I am able to come out stronger every game. Furthermore, I feel the mental game will also help me in my academic career. I plan to be a veterinary surgeon, going through at least 12 years of schooling. My mother's friend is a world class veterinarian, and she has truly influenced to pursue this career. I have pushed myself each day, knowing I can accomplish my goals no matter what.