July 13, 2001

What I know about leadership is something that I have gathered and learned from the people I have worked with these past two years, especially my coach. I have learned that to succeed, I need to set my standards high, to set goals first and be willing to give everything I have within me in order to reach them. I also learned that to reach my goals and strive towards them, I also need the help of other people. I must be open-minded, define my beliefs and identify my values, and be willing to share them with my coaches and teammates. That has been a big part of me reaching my goals and becoming a leader for my team.

I think this year has been a very successful year for me. My goal at the beginning of t he year were to get into the rankings, look to get into nationals and give myself the chance to play with the top players in the nation to be and All-American. My goal was also to have a good academic year and keep a good balance between tennis and schoolwork. Two years ago that was not a realistic goal for me, because I did not understand how much hard work it took to get where I am now. I am now ranked 40th and qualified to go to nationals. I try to focus on my tennis as much as my schoolwork, and I think that I have also had a really good year. I had a 3.8 GPA this spring, and I have been Academic All-Southeastern Conference and on the Dean’s List these past two years. I believe that this also comes from the discipline I have learned to have through my tennis career. Now I understand that to be a leader, motivating my teammates and working with them was a big part of it.

This also carries into other parts of my life. I really enjoy helping other people. I am enrolled in a reading program at Picadome Elementary School here in Lexington, where we go once a week to read to second graders and help them with their homework. I have done close to 15 hours of community service by going to a homeless shelter and to the Ronald McDonald House to help serve food to people. Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas are some occasions I’ve helped them with. I collect the old tennis shoes and clothes from my teammates to give to the Salvation Army. I also collect the shampoos and soaps form the hotels every time we go on a trip and take them to homeless shelters.

We, as a team, also go to the Children’s Hospital and play Bingo with the kids and ran in “The Race for the Cure,” for breast cancer. I believe that in order to receive, I first have to give. It’s like a cycle. I believe that by serving the community, I am helping my self be a better person by learning from others. It also helps me to appreciate and be grateful for what I have in life. This, for me, is an incentive to persist, work harder and feel confident about reaching my goals without losing sight of what is really important in life.

Thank you for considering me for the Tennis Magazine/ITA Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship Leadership Award. This is a great honor for me.

Carolina Mayorga