Running to the center of the volleyball net from the right hand side of the court, Carolyn Lu (12) sets the ball in preparation for the hitter to spike the ball over the net. The ball thuds on the ground on the opposite side of the net as the girls volleyball team huddles into a circle and exchange brief hugs and high fives before the next play. 

When Carolyn was younger, her parents tried finding a sport that she liked, but none seemed to stick with her until she found volleyball in the sixth grade. Despite her initial resentment towards the sport, Carolyn grew to love volleyball.

“I started out playing basketball and soccer when I was really little, and as I got older, it was fencing, swimming and tennis. But I hated all of them, so my mom signed me up for volleyball. I absolutely hated it like the rest, but my mom kept forcing me to go, and I eventually grew to love the sport,” Carolyn said.

One of Carolyn’s most difficult experiences in volleyball was switching from an outside hitter to a setter. 

“There were a lot of girls who were better and more experienced, so it took a lot of energy and effort to get accustomed to that position,” she said.

This initial challenge also drove her to improve and work hard, leading her to eventually skip an age group in club volleyball.

“I went from playing on an area team to a power team, which travels a lot more to play games against other club teams, which is when I really started taking volleyball seriously,” Carolyn said.

Although Carolyn considered quitting the sport in sophomore year due to its large time commitment, she decided to stay because of the lasting friendships she has created.

“In the end, it was the people who got me to stay. I know that sounds cheesy, but the team last year really brought to both strengthen my bonds with my teammates and with the sport itself,” she said.

Lauren Beede (12), one of Carolyn’s closest friends and has known her since middle school, stated that volleyball is what enabled them to create a stronger friendship in their sophomore year. Lauren admires Carolyn for her ability to live a balanced lifestyle and remain level-headed.

“She’s really funny and she has a strong head, so she keeps me grounded. She’s also really good with balancing everything, such as school and volleyball, and still being able to just have fun. She’s just been my rock for so long, and I appreciate her for that,” Lauren said.

Through Carolyn’s passion for volleyball, she also found a new hobby on a team bonding trip to Seascape: making friendship bracelets. Since the trip, many members of the volleyball team, including Carolyn, created a friendship bracelet-making club to share their interests with the community.

“We were really bored one night and didn’t know what to do, so Dylan [Williams (11)] pulled out a bag of string and she asked if anyone wanted to make friendship bracelets with her. Since then it’s just been a big thing within our team, and it’s stuck with me throughout high school,” she said.

Upper school vocal music teacher and Carolyn’s adviser Susan Nace admires Carolyn for not only her teamwork skills but also her kind heart.

“Carolyn is a very good team-builder. She makes sure that everyone is included and feels welcome. Going forward, I hope she stays active in groups in college and beyond because that’s where her magic power is,” Nace said. 

Despite her parents’ concerns due to the heavy workload, Carolyn wants to pursue the pre-medicine track in college. Her interest in pre-medicine stems from past internships at Stanford Vollrath Lab where she has studied degenerative eye diseases.

“I have a really rare eye-condition called retinitis pigmentosa, so I was motivated by that to contact a professor so I could learn more about it. Through my first internship, I was able to see what a real lab setting was in the research world, and that experience really strengthened my interest,” she said.

Carolyn believes that her work will hopefully bring light to diseases that may not be as prevalent but, nonetheless, are still significant.

“I worked to find different genes that correlated to different degenerative eye diseases, which I think is important because not a lot of people recognize that rare diseases still are present and important.”

Carolyn also pursues her desire to help others through volunteering. She created a chapter with two friends where they coach volleyball for young children every weekend. She also volunteers at Friends of Children with Special Needs (FCSN) where a group of Harker students help special needs kids explore their interests in the performing arts.

“Volunteering at FCSN has been so amazing and eye-opening because [the kids are] so talented and each of them have such strong musical talents; for example, some of them have perfect pitch and some of them even play seven different instruments,” she said.

Carolyn shared how her experience volunteering at FCSN has changed her perspective on the way she views special-needs kids.

“I always had this mindset before that they were disabled and that prevented them from doing specific activities, but now, I feel like it’s honestly just a misconception, and it’s just an obstacle they need to push through,” Carolyn said.

One of her good friends Maddie Huynh (12) commends Carolyn for how adaptable she is from one social situation to another.

“On any given night, she’ll be very intense on the volleyball court and pretend to ignore all of her friends screaming her name from the stands, and an hour later she’ll be with her friends laughing over boba and bowls of noodles,” Maddie said.

Maddie also admires Carolyn’s thoughtfulness when it comes to her loved ones and individuality. 

“Since we’ve been friends, I think she has really developed in finding her sense of self. She’s taken the time to reflect on who she is and what she means to her family, friends and community,” Maddie said.