Seniors sign their National Letters of Intent
While a lot of highschoolers play a sport in highschool, only a limited number of athletes actually end up striving to continue their sport in college.The athletes that signed their National Letters of Intent on November 16 are a part of these few lucky individuals.
Most of these athletes have been doing their respective sports for a majority of their life. Throughout the past few weeks they have exhibited their excitement to be able to keep their passion for their sport and play it in college. Maddy Mekari, senior, is committing to Denison University in Ohio to continue playing softball there. She has been playing softball for about 13 years and it has become a huge part of her life. Mekari played softball her freshman year on varsity at Westlake High School and her remaining three years of highschool on varsity at Newbury Park High School. She knew that Denison was the right choice when exploring the campus and all that they offer. “It’s an accomplishment for me. It’s been a lot of years of trying to get committed and I finally did and it just feels good,” Mekari said.
Finding the perfect school that has your major of interest and gives you the opportunity to continue playing your sport all the way through college is hard to come across. Daniella Guyette, senior, has found the perfect fit that offers her all that she hopes to achieve in her college years. She has been playing lacrosse for seven years and is excited that she has the opportunity to continue on a athletic scholarship at Syracuse University in New York. Guyette has been playing on the varsity lacrosse team all four years of her years at NPHS. Syracuse University offers the best opportunity for Guyette as she is going to explore the field of forensics as her major while continuing her passion for lacrosse. “It means a lot where I’m really able to dive into two different passages in my life that I find a lot of joy in. Whether it’s athletics with lacrosse and pushing myself to the limit while exploring the depths of forensic and me pursuing both my passions,” Guyette said.
Looking at schools around the country trying to find the perfect fit can also be very stressful for seniors eager to find their match. This may include traveling to a far city, visiting a campus filled with beautiful falling leaves and their colors. That is what happened to Kassandra Huber, senior, who knew that she had found her dream school holding the perfect opportunity for her, Eastern Michigan University. “When I went to visit it was very beautiful and especially seeing it in the fall with all the leaves, oranges and stuff, it really made me feel like it was like home,” Huber said. This is her seventh year playing Lacrosse, she was on the team at Oak Park High School up until her transfer over to NPHS mid way junior year and has been on varsity all four years at both schools. Huber is super excited to be able to have the honor of signing her national letter of intent and playing her sport of passion after high school.
These athletes have put in large amounts of time and hard work to finally lead up to where they are reaching. Finally being able to find and commit to their dream colleges and sign their National Letters of Intent is not something everyone achieves. Having the ability to show off that all their hard work paid off is a feeling all seniors want to depart highschool with.
