Ava Wolin

Olympia High School
Olympia, WA

Captain of Motivation

Perseverance and positivity always wins the race.

Ava Wolin is the captain of her track & field and basketball teams. As a leader, she carries a lot of responsibility for her team’s performance. But she sees her most important role as keeping the team motivated, especially in challenging situations. “I always motivated and persevered, so my teammates would not lose faith,” she says. With a championship game on the line for her AUU traveling select basketball team, Ava put her motivational and leadership skills into action to convince her coach to put her into the game as a defensive player. “I knew he was nervous because we needed points and I wasn’t a shooter.” But Ava’s persistence got her off the bench and onto the court. She guarded and held the opponent’s best player to just three points, ultimately enabling her team to get the win.

Speaking up when she needs to, giving her best effort in every situation, and staying positive are the keys to Ava’s success in sports, academics, and life. But she doesn’t just rise to the occasion for her own benefit. She uses her skills to ensure everyone around her has opportunities to shine. “I always want everyone to feel equal. I greatly dislike when someone feels less than,” she says. Ava tutors her peers in math, English, and science and trains other student athletes on the track and on the court, going the extra mile and using her motivational skills to help other students find their own paths to greatness. She also volunteers her time to work with kids with disabilities and to help disadvantaged youth learn how to snowboard. As a member of her school’s Bear Crew, she collaborates with teachers and administrators to create a welcoming high school environment for everyone, including anyone who needs a little extra help adjusting.

Sometimes, Ava’s biggest goal is simply to spread happiness and bring a smile to someone’s face. Given the challenges presented by COVID-19, this has become especially important to her as she’s seen those she cares about struggle with the fallout from the pandemic. “How you carry yourself, treat others, and life lessons you learn make you who you are,” Ava says. And Ava is someone who is destined to change the world. “I’m still figuring out how, and what that will look like.” But a few things she knows for sure are that she has the drive to carry on no matter what stands in her way, and that she’ll use that passion to make an impact however and wherever she can to leave the world better than she found it.


Athletic

Achievements

Track & Field

  • Captain
  • Varsity Letter Winner
  • All-Conference
  • All-District
  • All-State
  • 3 School Records
  • 3 District Records
  • All American, 4×400
  • #1 in Washington State, 400M 4A
  • South Puget Sound League 4A Champion
  • Thurston County Female Athlete of the Year Nominee
  • WIAA Player of the Week
  • WIAA All Conference Academic Team

Basektball

  • Captain
  • Varsity Letter Winner
  • All-Conference
  • All-District
  • All-State
  • 1 School Record
  • 3 District Records
  • 1st Team All-Area, Defense

 


Academic Honors & Awards

  • National Honors Society
  • Congress of Future Medical Leaders Award of Excellence Nominee
  • AAUW STEM Camp Recipient Award (Stanford University Funded)
  • WIAA State Academic Champion
  • Academic All-Conference Girls Track & Field

 

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School & Community Involvement

  • Association of Washington Student Leaders
  • Washington State Legislature Senate Page
  • AAUW STEM Camp Counselor (Stanford University)
  • Peer Tutor
  • Unified Mentor/Sports-Representative
  • Climate Action Club
  • OHS “Lil Bears” Basketball Camp Counselor
  • BEAR Crew
  • Spirit Crew
  • Burton Chill Volunteer
  • Thurston County Food Bank Volunteer

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“Be great and change the world.”

~ Ava Wolin ~