Senior signing day celebrates future college athletes
Olivia Kim(’22) is signing with Colombia for swimming, and her booth is decorated with the colors of the school.
May 21, 2022
On May 12th 2022, seven seniors celebrated all of their hard work by committing to their college in front of their peers and family members.
“When I got my offer, I was obviously very excited because my first offer was my number one school that I wanted to go to. Penn was my first offer, and I took it right away because I knew that’s where I wanted to go,” said University of Pennsylvania Gymnast, Carly Oniki (22’).
All college athletes have to go through a tough recruiting process, and COVID added new difficulties in addition.
“The recruitment process was really slow for me because of COVID. It caused us to have a whole year without coaches being able to watch us, but I was super happy when Nevada picked me up,” said University of Nevada Reno Soccer Player, Maddie Benson (22’).
Despite the obstacles, many athletes were satisfied with their choices in the end. Signing day brought the athletes lots of excitement as they were able to show off all their hard work and be celebrated for the next chapter in their lives.
“I’m excited to meet all the girls and build connections with them, live with them, and play soccer at a high level,” said Benson.
Over the past years they have not only become better athletes, but they have also learned some life long skills.
“One skill I am going to take into college is definitely time management. Also the importance of getting along with your teammates and coaches because that’s definitely going to be a skill I need for the rest of my life,” said Oniki.
Working towards being a college athlete is not something you can do alone. Family support is crucial factor in one’s success.
“I definitely want to thank my parents just because they’ve made so many sacrifices and have always been supportive. They have never pressured me to continue gymnastics. I have always been in it because I wanted to be there. They have traveled across the country with me, and my dad [has] driven me to practice which is 45 minutes away everyday for years. They have also spent so much money on me and my injuries,” said Oniki.
