LAKEWOOD, CO- Choosing a pathway for your future is hard but not when you have known what you want to do since you were little. Sophomore softball player Leah Garcia, who was the starting short stop on the field all last season, has known she would be a nurse since she was twelve.
Leah grew up in Amarillo, Texas playing almost every sport, even tackle football, but her true love in sports was always softball. When she was a junior at Randall High School, she was recruited by Coach Larry Hays from one of the biggest softball tournaments in the country. After receiving an offer to come play at CCU, Leah prayed about it with her family and she knew that it was the place she was supposed to be. After an impressive fall preseason as a freshman, she earned a starting position in the infield for the spring. Starting as a freshman isn't easy though. She felt pressure from herself and her family to perform as a starter. She was nervous to mess up and she didn't want to be judged by her teammates. However, she learned that "you go through slumps, and you don't have to be good all the time, but it's about working to get better every day."
Leah came to CCU with the plan to become a nurse. Her initial plans quickly changed though as the nursing major conflicted with her softball schedule. She then changed to a health science major, which still provides her with a path to a nursing degree as it has the same prerequisites as a nursing major. With her health science degree, she will then go to a one-year fast-track nursing school to get her nursing degree. Leah's mom is a NICU nurse, and some of her family members are also in the medical field. She chose to become a nurse because of a miracle story. When her sister was born, she was six weeks early which also put her mom at risk. Leah's mom had some complications and ended up losing a lot of blood and almost losing her life. Because of this, Leah wants to be a NICU or pediatrics nurse when she gets out of college.
Growing up, Leah and her family had a faith background, but since she spent most of her time playing sports, she missed church a lot. Before high school, Leah just went through the motions, not growing in her relationship with God. When she was a freshman in high school, her family switched churches, and this also switched something in her. She began to realize how important God was and how much she needed Him in her life. She was baptized on her 14th birthday, and her relationship with God has continued to grow ever since. Leah said, "coming to CCU has strengthened my relationship with God. Especially being on a team where everyone is focused on the same goal of serving God in everything we do."
One piece of advice Leah would give to those around her is, "in team sports, if you're only focused on yourself and how good you are going to do, then you are not going to really succeed. It's really important to focus on others over yourself and be selfless in everything you do. Focus on God and doing everything for him."
