On a table decked with gray and blue decorations, Simone Romriell sat with her family. She, alongside seven other seniors, had the opportunity to have their four years of hard work in athletics pay off when they committed to different colleges. Between all the pictures, decorations and signings, it may look like a hasty celebratory moment ; however, it‘s one four years in the making.

What made you realize you wanted to go to Utah State?

“I realized that I wanted to go there because it was a really good environment for me and a lot of my family members live up there, so I’d have a good community. Also, I really wanted to go somewhere that had a good balance between life and volleyball and where I could still have fun and do normal college things while still being committed and play volleyball as a job basically. I asked my coaches what they do for fun and they said something so random and outlandish, it sounded awesome. So it was just a school that had the right balance between life and volleyball.”

Could you describe how your signing process played out?

“I was able to develop a good relationship with my coaches and once I figured [Utah State] was the place I wanted to be at, I told them and they gave me an offer. After considering, I verbally committed:which is the first step. After I told them, I was going to take the scholarship, I was able to post about it. Then when the time to sign came, I digitally signed it at home. ( The signing on signing day is just a formality.) It was really fun to set up the table, have the display, and hear Coach Kat talk about me and my teammates, plus to have my parents there was fun as well.”

What are you most excited about going to college?

“I’m honestly most excited just for the volleyball part. They said that our class is going to be one of the top recruiting classes they’ve ever had at their program. So I’m really excited to see how we do. I feel like we’ll be really successful. I’m also just really excited to kind of be on my own and figure out how to be an adult and do things by myself.”

What are your future plans?

“I really want to be involved with athletics, even after I’m done with volleyball. I’m planning on studying exercise science and human health performance, kind of more the route of being like a strength and conditioning coach. So, I want to be able to help athletes train to get to their full capacity and do things that can help them with vertical training, shrink training, stuff like that. And so, yeah, I just want to be able to keep helping athletes in the future and maybe even become a coach.”

What’s your advice for people looking to get signed?

“I would say to just really put yourself out there, but then also have fun. Honestly, whenever you’re trying so hard to look for your college is usually when it won’t happen. If you just let life happen but still do your part and put in  effort and do everything you can, then something will find you. But if you’re desperate, you’re gonna end up somewhere that you’ll be really unhappy at and have to end up transferring. So I would say  take your time and really branch out, talk to all of your options ,and send out highlight videos consistently. Consistency is definitely key. As long as you stay consistent and put in as much effort as you can, if you just let life happen, then whatever is best for you will happen.”

What’s one goal you have?

“I want to accomplish building a good community around me. I want to be able to have a lot of friends on my team and at school that can help push me to be the best version of myself because I definitely tend to be a bit introverted. So, I think going to a completely new state and new environment, I might revert inwards. But, I really want to reach out and find people that can support me in my athletic career and my religion. I want to have people that can help me with my spirituality and then also just help me balance school so that I can be successful academically too. So, just a good group of people.”