Sharing My Story - Ryan White
December 06, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
The Power of Perspective
Oregon State Volleyball
When I was a senior in high school in 2021, I committed to play volleyball and attend Oregon State University. The combination of strong academics, close family ties to Corvallis and a volleyball program that competed in one of the best volleyball conferences in the nation was a dream come true for me.
But this came after battling recruiting restraints during the COVID-19 pandemic, not attending high school for a whole year and missing an entire year of club volleyball.
When I was a junior in high school, my entire club volleyball season ended at the beginning of March because of the pandemic. No more opportunities to get film, no more tournaments and to top it off, my school went online a week later. Little did I know that I wouldn't return to school until the following March because of the pandemic. Sophomore and junior years for volleyball are essential to getting recruited and one of those two years for me was taken away, and taken away from a lot of volleyball players.
However, I was lucky enough to begin practicing in Idaho, about three hours from my hometown with a new club team. I lived in Idaho with my teammates for a few days out of the week to attend our practices and went home the other few days. This was my life for a good six months. My parents sacrificed a lot of their time and money to drive me to and from practice multiple days a week to get the best training I could and I'm so grateful for that. That is the power of perspective when we were in such uncertain times.
When I committed to play for OSU, in my mom's hometown, I wasn't sure who was more excited, me or my family. I was accepted into the Honors College at OSU and am currently studying to get a degree in Business Administration with minors in Chemistry and Organizational Leadership. When I get my degree, I want to use it to fuel my coaching and sports industry career after I play professionally overseas in Europe for a few years.
My experience has been nothing at all like what I expected playing a Division I sport and going to school would be like but I wouldn't change it for the world. I've had the opportunity to speak at freshman convocations and all-staff meetings, be a part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, make many meaningful and lasting relationships, am a two year captain on my team as a junior and went to Panama for a community service project with other student-athletes. These are all some of the positives I've been able to experience. However, college athletics is hard. It's long hours in the gym, long hours for school and homework, lots of travel, and many other sacrifices to play the sport you love. But it's really worth it when you can put into perspective how much there is to be grateful for. Your teammates and sports friends, your coaches and the support staff, and so many other people are working so hard to help make your experience good in sport and it's really cool. It's also really awesome when you love your sport so passionately.
The Panama volunteer trip this last summer was something that impacted my life immensely. I went down to Panama with a handful of other OSU student-athletes to help a local community build an outdoor sport court. We had no phones for 10 days, slept in a local school, and got to speak Spanish with the locals every day. The experience not only connected me with my fellow student-athletes and allowed me to make meaningful relationships with the locals, but it also put into perspective how lucky we are to have the opportunities we do on a daily basis.
Oregon State has changed my life path and personal views for the better. I'm so thankful for the experiences and relationships that I've had here at OSU and for the continuing support of the athletic community in my successes. Go Beavs!!
Oregon State Volleyball
When I was a senior in high school in 2021, I committed to play volleyball and attend Oregon State University. The combination of strong academics, close family ties to Corvallis and a volleyball program that competed in one of the best volleyball conferences in the nation was a dream come true for me.
But this came after battling recruiting restraints during the COVID-19 pandemic, not attending high school for a whole year and missing an entire year of club volleyball.
When I was a junior in high school, my entire club volleyball season ended at the beginning of March because of the pandemic. No more opportunities to get film, no more tournaments and to top it off, my school went online a week later. Little did I know that I wouldn't return to school until the following March because of the pandemic. Sophomore and junior years for volleyball are essential to getting recruited and one of those two years for me was taken away, and taken away from a lot of volleyball players.
However, I was lucky enough to begin practicing in Idaho, about three hours from my hometown with a new club team. I lived in Idaho with my teammates for a few days out of the week to attend our practices and went home the other few days. This was my life for a good six months. My parents sacrificed a lot of their time and money to drive me to and from practice multiple days a week to get the best training I could and I'm so grateful for that. That is the power of perspective when we were in such uncertain times.
When I committed to play for OSU, in my mom's hometown, I wasn't sure who was more excited, me or my family. I was accepted into the Honors College at OSU and am currently studying to get a degree in Business Administration with minors in Chemistry and Organizational Leadership. When I get my degree, I want to use it to fuel my coaching and sports industry career after I play professionally overseas in Europe for a few years.
My experience has been nothing at all like what I expected playing a Division I sport and going to school would be like but I wouldn't change it for the world. I've had the opportunity to speak at freshman convocations and all-staff meetings, be a part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, make many meaningful and lasting relationships, am a two year captain on my team as a junior and went to Panama for a community service project with other student-athletes. These are all some of the positives I've been able to experience. However, college athletics is hard. It's long hours in the gym, long hours for school and homework, lots of travel, and many other sacrifices to play the sport you love. But it's really worth it when you can put into perspective how much there is to be grateful for. Your teammates and sports friends, your coaches and the support staff, and so many other people are working so hard to help make your experience good in sport and it's really cool. It's also really awesome when you love your sport so passionately.
The Panama volunteer trip this last summer was something that impacted my life immensely. I went down to Panama with a handful of other OSU student-athletes to help a local community build an outdoor sport court. We had no phones for 10 days, slept in a local school, and got to speak Spanish with the locals every day. The experience not only connected me with my fellow student-athletes and allowed me to make meaningful relationships with the locals, but it also put into perspective how lucky we are to have the opportunities we do on a daily basis.
Oregon State has changed my life path and personal views for the better. I'm so thankful for the experiences and relationships that I've had here at OSU and for the continuing support of the athletic community in my successes. Go Beavs!!
