She is a fighter.

Every opponent who has ever looked deep in her blue eyes has witnessed the flash of anger and felt the fear in the pit of their stomachs when she smacks the surface of the ball over the net and sends it hurtling towards the enemy.

She doesn’t whine when her coach makes the team run laps until their legs feel like noodles.

She doesn’t complain when her mother asks her to take out the garbage and feed their four beagles every morning before school.

She is a fighter.

Every breath the K-Park sophomore takes on the volleyball court escalates to the next pass. With each exhale, there is fire blown from her breath and fierceness emitted from her soul. Every step is crucial.

She battles for her mother, who managed to raise her daughter by herself, and who supports her in everything she does, including being her biggest fan at most of her volleyball games; The ones she can go to, if she’s not working late.

She is a fighter.

She couldn’t slack, even if she wanted to.

“My mom doesn’t let me give up,” Laura Fletcher says proudly. “And if she did, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today.”

When she started playing volleyball at the age of 9, Laura admits that she hated it because due to the simple fact that she was horrible. Her mom forced her to go to practice, but she dreaded putting on her knee pads and tying up her short bobbed blonde hair. She was just a small girl holding a ball, trying to play a game she didn’t know how to play.

Today, Laura faces new challenges.

Girls who try to step on her toes and prove they are better.

She won’t let bullies get in the way of her dream.

She will never give up.