Thank you for everything. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to be honored with a group of very impressive women. Thank you for the challenges, the growth, the opportunities, and the best friends. Thank you for the ups and the downs, for the highest highs of college and the lowest lows. Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to learn who I am, how I operate, and what kind of person I want to become. Thank you for the platform to fearlessly compete and lead. Thank you for the opportunity to meet so many people. Thank you for the chance to be a role model for young girls. Thank you for filling me with the greatest feelings of joy after a huge win, and for filling me with the humbling feeling of disappointment after a tough loss. Thank you for stretching me to new lengths and challenging me to work hard.
There are so many aspects of my life that would be so different without you, and I am forever grateful for the role that you played in my life over the past 15 years. You’ve taught me so much about myself and life in general. I will never forget the intense games, tough losses, and big wins, but what sticks out the most are the countless hours and endless laughs that I shared with my teammates. My teammates quickly became my best friends, and I plan on them being best friends for life. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do life alongside so many incredible women that I learned so much from. Thank you for providing me with a community that loved me, cared for me, and understood me so deeply. Thank you for giving me mentors that believed in me. And thank you most importantly for teaching me what it looks like to be a servant leader.
If you would’ve asked me 4 years ago what servant leadership meant, I would probably have a textbook definition for you, but I would have no idea what it means to live it and walk it every day. Volleyball has provided me with the opportunity to learn from my coach, Amber Warners, what it means to be a servant leader.
Servant leadership means being the first person to shag the balls and the last person to eat. Servant leadership means letting all of the freshmen shower before you even though you’re in a rush. Servant leadership means staying up with a freshman until 2 am during preseason because they’re homesick. Servant leadership means leaving the statistics, attention, and glory in the dust and focusing on what truly matters. Servant leadership means recognizing that how you make your teammates feel is more important than how you feel. Servant leadership means conducting yourself in a manner that represents the ultimate servant leader, Jesus. Servant leadership means laying down your life for your teammates and doing whatever it takes. I could’ve never learned what servant leadership looks like without watching my coach and other teammates live it out every day. The sport of volleyball and specifically Calvin University volleyball has taught me more than I deserve, and I am forever thankful for those lessons.
As I begin my career, I am frequently amazed at how much the lessons learned through playing volleyball impact the work I do. The teamwork, collaboration, and hard work that are required to be successful in my career are all things that come naturally to me thanks to my time as a student athlete. Although it’s a bit less fun to go to work every day than it was to go to volleyball practice, there is a similar grit and passion that can be found in the work I do. As I transition to being a servant leader for my co-workers rather than teammates, I can’t thank the sport of volleyball enough to equipping me to be a good employee and friend.
So volleyball, thank you for everything. Thank you for the opportunities, the passion, the life lessons, and the best friends. I sure do miss you, but I’m sure that I’ll be seeing you around!