Sophomore Grace Stephens is currently playing for Fossil Ridge High School’s C-Team Volleyball and is involved in different art classes and clubs around the school. “I’ve played volleyball for the past six years and I’ve been doing art since my great grandma taught me to draw in kindergarten. They’re just two things I think are so much fun and I love to participate in them,” Stephens explained about her involvement around the school.

During her freshman year at Fossil, Stephens played for not only Fossil’s D-Team, but she played on a team for Loveland Volleyball Club. Stephens plans to play club volleyball again this year and says she is “super excited because [she] had a lot of fun last year and it’ll be great to be back with [her] teammates.” Fossil’s volleyball season has been going on since their first practice on August 16. So far, the C-Team players have participated in games against rival schools, such as Fort Collins High School, and have won four out of five of their games so far.

Outside of her achievements in volleyball, Stephens is involved in different art classes and clubs at Fossil. During her freshman year, she took classes such as Photography and Foundations of Art and this semester, she is enrolled in Drawing. “[Art] honestly makes me super happy and I love having this way to express myself and get creative. For me, it just shows off the brighter aspects of life,” Stephens said.

Before Stephens’ life in Colorado though, she lived in Illinois until she was fourteen. Born in the suburbs of Chicago, specifically Mount Prospect, Stephens said, “Illinois will always mean a lot to me and I love getting to see my friends and family again whenever I can.” Stephens misses her friends and family in Illinois, but she says she has adjusted well to the new state and she is very proud of her relatively easy transition.

Now she lives in Timnath with her family, which consists of her parents and her younger brother, Nathan, who is currently attending Preston Middle School. Stephens says she loves more than anything getting to spend time with her family and her friends, and “of course,” her dog, Ellie Mae. She feels that getting to be around the people that matter most to her in the world lifts a huge weight off her shoulders and can make her instantly happy, even on the worst of days.

At Fossil, Stephens loves to get involved with the school community. Stephens said that this year, “I am trying to be more involved in clubs and extracurriculars outside of volleyball.” She joined the newest honor society at Fossil, National English Honor Society, and is a member of National Art Honor Society as well. She loves to meet new people through in-school activities because it helps her get to know people that she might not have ever known otherwise.

In the future, Stephens plans to continue playing volleyball for the school and club teams. She wants to graduate high school and go to a university — either Northwestern University in Chicago or University of Northern Colorado — where she aims to study speech therapy or physical therapy. She does not yet know if her future plans will include continuing to play volleyball, as she does not want to be too overwhelmed in college and be unable to balance her academics with athletics. “For now, I’m honestly just excited to keep playing volleyball and being around my friends and family. I think it’ll be really fun to see where my life takes me.”