Warrior Wire: Audrey Soares

by Audrey Soares

Senior elementary education major Audrey Soares competes for RCU volleyball. Here is her story in her own words.

Small town to big opportunities

Coming from a small town, college athletics was always the gateway to bright opportunities for me.

Since I was young I knew that I wanted to do a lot with my life and I decided that I wanted to create an identity in sports. My family hopped on board with that decision and ever since I was 7 years old, they have supported me every step of the way.

Pushing Limits: Becoming a multi-sport athlete

The first step I took on my athletic journey was moving to West Branch, Michigan. My parents decided that to help me make friends, they would sign me up for T-ball, and the next thing I knew, I was a softball player.

I had spent countless hours putting my energy into the sport to become an athlete. When I got to the 8th grade, I decided that I wanted to be a part of another sport because one just wasn’t enough for me. I decided to try volleyball, which led to one of the best decisions of my life! From then on, I knew that I was not only a softball player, but a volleyball player too.

Freshman year of high school came about and I sat down with my parents and told them I was not feeling challenged as a competitive athlete. I wanted to do more with my high school career athletically. My goal was to be a three-sport athlete and be awarded by my senior year for my hard work.

So during the winter season, I decided to join the basketball team. Three sports still was not enough for me, so in my junior year, I decided I was going to go all out and become a cheerleader. At this point, I was a four-sport athlete juggling my identity in athletics, my identity as a student, and my identity in my faith.

Rebuilding: From surgery to redemption

In my junior year, I was on top of my world until one day my world shattered, alongside my leg. I fell to the floor during a volleyball game holding my leg knowing something wasn’t right. I heard people in the crowd gasping, yelling, and pointing at what would be the biggest challenge of my athletic career. I woke up the next day from surgery face-to-face with a decision that would not only show others the type of person I am but prove to myself the person I wanted to be.

Faith, family and support: The keys to my success

A year and a half later, I heard my name get called alongside one of my lifelong teammates, which meant the world to me. I accepted the three-sport award that I felt had been taken away from me with my athletic identity with injuries setting me back. At this time, I had also been blessed by God with the opportunity to play the sport in college that once broke me. I proved to that same broken girl that I could do anything I worked hard enough for.

My message to student athletes

I rapidly approach my final semester with gratefulness for the people I have had a chance to connect with along the way — who guided me and shaped me into the woman I am today.

I have had many difficult experiences, decisions, and trials that I have overcome during my time here at RCU. Every single one of these trials and tribulations has made me the person I am today.

I will continue to use my experiences to lift the strengths and abilities that God gave me to glorify His name to the world and community around me.

Finding my identity as an athlete and as a follower of Christ has led me to be strong and to walk through life ready for whatever is to come. I hope that my story can inspire other athletes to persevere during times when you might feel discouraged.