During the summer prior to my junior year in college, I decided to work in Washington, D.C. Every day I rode the metro to and from work. I knew that my summer job would add value to my education, however what I did not realize was that the metro ride would teach me an extremely important lesson in life.

YOU BETTER ENJOY YOUR JOB! Nobody looked happy riding the metro. I thought about what I loved to do every day and the answer was simple: volleyball! I was extremely fortunate that my dedication to volleyball allowed me to earn a full scholarship to The College of William and Mary. I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Psychology. Upon graduating, I earned a graduate assistantship at Texas A&M University where I earned my Master of Science degree in Kinesiology (Sport Marketing and Management). The greatest opportunity at Texas A&M University was being able to volunteer my time with the volleyball team. This taught me another valuable lesson about pursuing a career in collegiate athletics, sometimes it’s not what you know, but who you know. Upon graduating I was offered a job to be the assistant volleyball coach at James Madison University, where I spent five years coaching and recruiting athletes from across the country.

In 2008, I revisited that life lesson from the metro ride and decided that I wanted to become a teacher. I always enjoyed the mentoring aspect of coaching. I spent my first three years in Florida teaching Science and coaching volleyball at Plant City High School. In 2011, I was offered the opportunity to teach and coach at Tampa Preparatory School. I love my job! Every day I get the opportunity to impact the lives of students both academically and athletically. The excitement and energy in the Middle School is contagious. I teach them Science and they teach me the important things like the best iPad games, the meaning of a hashtag (which I tell them is the number sign) and the newest phrases. When I am not at school, I enjoy playing volleyball, going to the beach and traveling.

Ms. Grosso is the:

• Middle School Boys and Girls Tennis Head Coach
• Middle School Volleyball Head Coach – Red Team
• Gold Shell Club sponsor