Student Athlete Profile:
Jessica Brady
Brandon Castle, O&B Staff Writer
Issue date: 9/19/08 Section: Sports
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Back on August 9th, a new week was just beginning for Jessica. It was the last week of preparation for fall semester classes at Lake Sumter Community College in Florida. Jessica was to be completely registered before her alumni volleyball game that weekend. Life was going according to plan.
Not a chance.
A recruiting phone call came in for her to play volleyball at Carson Newman. The team had a void in the middle position that needed to be filled up quickly.
The only problem is that Jessica has not played that position in two years. She also was not familiar with the coach. Moreover, she has never in her life stepped foot into Tennessee before. To recap, she would have to pack her bags to move to a relatively unknown college to play for a coach she did not know at a position years unpracticed. Simple enough right? Before I forget, all this must happen in the next seventy two hours.
Thankfully, hesitation was not in Jessica's vocabulary. Her life was making a complete 180 degree turn in the opposite direction, but she was running with it. She had not paid for her classes yet which made leaving her community college simple. The rest of this decision relied on the tape of her performance in her alumni game.
This tape was vital to Jessica's future at Carson Newman. So vital in fact that it was flown back to the coach through a tropical storm. Her performance on it did not disappoint. Soon she was Carson Newman bound.
Jessica boarded the next flight on Sunday to make it up in time before Monday classes. When asked if she had any reservations on coming she replied, "How could I? I had the team screaming on the phone for me to come".
The remarkable aspect of Jessica's story is how well the puzzle pieced together. It began on a whim but fate seemed to guide her along. Delaying her payment for her fall term paid off. Her transferred credits did not seem to conflict with Carson Newman. Even catching a plane on short notice could not slow her down. Amidst all the frenzy was a path that Jessica found.
Random events led Jessica here, but the timing could not have been more perfect. When the team needed someone, Jessica became that unexpected hero.
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