After four outstanding years on the court and in the classroom, Ava Reed is graduating with a clear plan for the future: Attend the University of Mary Hardin Baylor to play beach and indoor volleyball and pursue her passion for Pediatrics.
Having always had a love for volleyball, Ava quickly became a part of Frederick’s Varsity team.
Playing at the top level all four years, Ava earned 4 varsity letters. In addition, her junior year she made All Conference First Team and Academic Honorable mention. Ava said that for her senior season, she has the goal “to make All State Player. I also plan to help our team to host regionals.”
One of Ava’s favorite memories stems from volleyball. “Some of my favorites [memories] have been from my freshman year when I was blessed to be able to play at regionals with the team that year. It was such a fun experience and I hope to make it happen again” Ava said.
When Ava wasn’t in season for indoor, she could be found training in the sand for beach volleyball. Having played several tournaments in California, Ava showed that she is a strong player in many different environments.
All of this hard work led to Ava being recruited to the University of Mary Hardin Baylor in Texas to play beach and indoor volleyball.
While Ava has proven to be a standout player on the court, she also proved that she’s a standout student in the classroom.
Through Frederick, Ava has been a part of the Biomed all four years and through the program has challenged herself academically by taking a variety of AP and medical based classes. Her junior year she took AP Biology, AP Language, and AP Government alongside her Biomed classes.
For her senior year, she is taking three college courses: Intro to Sociology and Intro to Fiction through CU Succeed, and Biomedical Engineering.
But while Ava has taken a variety of classes, her favorite has been Anatomy and Physiology as well as Anatomical Case Studies. “These classes have helped me with guiding my interests with what I want to pursue and learn more about in the future,” Ava said.
“I plan to pursue and major in maybe Neuroscience or Physical therapy, these things have always been in my life due to my little brother’s special needs and that is why I want to major in something of that sort.”
All of this is for Ava’s dream of going into Pediatrics which has been a passion of hers for many years. Ava said that “I plan to do anything within my major that allows me to make a positive impact in the world of Pediatric Medicine.”
As Ava prepares for this next step in her life, she looked back at her time in high school; remembering the teachers she’s had, the memories she’s made, and what she has been told since she started high school.
Recalling her class memories, Ava said “Mr. Wellington was my advisory teacher until this year; he made such a positive impact and helped me get through my younger years of high school.
But I would also like to add that every teacher I have had at FHS has made some sort of impact in my life and with my time at Frederick and I am extremely grateful for them all and their dedication and commitment to students.”
Beyond the classroom, Ava is heavily involved with unified sports, helping with both Unified Bowling and Unified Basketball throughout the year.
Unified sports have “shaped my high school experience in many different ways, it helps me see things in a better and new perspective in how to help kids be included and feel just as special as I do when I play volleyball and run track…I also love anytime we get to travel for unified sports, it make the whole team feel special and that’s very amazing to be part of something like that!” Ava said.
Outside of school, Ava enjoys spending time with her family by going on vacations and making countless memories together. She also loves traveling with her beach volleyball teammates as they try new foods and shops wherever their tournaments are.
But after everything, Ava has a few pieces of advice that she wants to give to incoming freshmen: “cherish it and get involved. It truly does go fast, so go to football and volleyball games, join the sport you weren’t sure about joining, get involved with a club or something great and bigger than yourself. Do not hold yourself back because someone said ‘it’s too hard’ prove the wrong and do it, because you can! Experience it all, do it all and leave with absolutely no regrets.”
So after four years of hard work, commitment, and touching many people’s lives, Ava will graduate from Frederick High School having made an impact and knowing that her dedication paid off.
