Sheff special

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By Brittany Brownrigg, October 2, 2009

            Sheff, who is now a sophomore at Franklin College, graduated from Greenwood High School. Unlike most high school students, Caitlyn did not spend all four years of her high school career at the same school. For her freshman and sophomore years Sheff went to Roncalli, a private Catholic school, and then for her final two years she went to Greenwood High School. This transition made an extremely large impact on Sheff’s life and some of the decisions she has made since.

 

            “I didn’t really know anyone,” Sheff said about her move to Greenwood High School.

            Going to both a public and private high school opened Sheff’s eyes to many differences. There were many aspects of Roncalli that Caitlyn liked; however, she thinks that she will send her children to a public school. Sheff now understands how valuable her public school experiences were. After her move, Sheff noticed that the people at Greenwood were very down-to-Earth.

 

            “I loved it, I found my really good friends [at Greenwood],” Sheff said.

Caitlyn’s original goal was to play basketball in college, but after her first two years of high school and her move to Greenwood that goal changed to volleyball. In the September of Sheff’s senior year she committed to Franklin College after looking seriously into both Butler and Wittenberg.

 

One of the achievements that Sheff is most proud of is the fact that she came to Franklin. Caitlyn was one of the first girls from the volleyball team at Greenwood High School to play at the collegiate level. Sheff hopes that by coming to Franklin she helped her teammates from high school to reach for higher goals. 

 

Sheff also loves the fact that she is only 20 minutes away from home.

 

“My mom is coming down to bring me laundry [later tonight],” Sheff said.

 

Sheff’s family is constantly surrounded by sports, and has been for a very long time. Her dad was a two-sport athlete in both lacrosse and swimming at Ohio Wesleyan University, and her mom played volleyball. Caitlyn and her mom are extremely close, and she believes that this is partly because of their connection through volleyball. This deep bond began in grade school when Sheff’s mother was her volleyball coach, and has only developed further as the years have passed.

 

“She hasn’t missed a game,” said Sheff about her mother.

Caitlyn has one other sibling, a younger brother, who is a freshman at Roncalli high school. He too is deeply involved in sports. According to Caitlyn, her brother is looking into the possibility of playing collegiate football, and is now going to scouting camps to pursue the dream further.

            Sheff says that being an athletic family has helped her, because everyone supports each other. Sheff knew she would not only get help from her coaches, but from her parents as well. 

            “We [as a family] share that drive for being active,” Sheff said.

 

            Sheff is majoring in International Business as well as French. Caitlyn is also involved in the sorority Zeta Tau Alpha on campus. One of Sheff’s academic goals is to intern with Kleinfelds, a store that carries designer Bridal attire. Upon graduation, Sheff hopes to someday become an exclusive designer for Kleinfelds. Sheff credits this goal to some of her experiences of going to both a public and private high school.

 

            “It all stems from me going to a Catholic school,” Sheff said.

 

            While attending Roncalli Sheff had to wear uniforms, which she believes helped her to become creative with the small details of her outfit that she could adjust. When Sheff transferred to Greenwood High School she found freedom in her clothing choices.

            “I had to get up and think about what I wanted to wear [when I went to Greenwood],” Sheff said.

 

            Through these experiences Sheff has developed an enthusiasm for clothing and design.

 

            As for right now, Sheff is focusing on her passion for volleyball. Sheff said volleyball is an escape from all of life’s distractions for her.

 

            “You forget about real life and play,” said Sheff.

 

            Sheff is very proud of the fact that she is a starter as a sophomore, and can really help make a meaningful contribution to the team.

 

            “Everyone tries to find their thing . . . something they’re good at . . . [volleyball] is just my thing,” Sheff said.

 

            As for the team, Sheff hopes to earn the honor of being in the top three in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

 

            “We have all of the talent in the world . . . we can be amazing . . . when we focus and we do our job, we are unstoppable,” Sheff said about her team.

 

            Some of the things that Caitlyn enjoys while not keeping busy with school, volleyball, or sorority life are listening to music and watching TV. Sheff enjoys acoustic music – artists like Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz. America’s Next Top Model and Gilmore Girls are two television shows that Sheff loves. Sheff also enjoys the sport of basketball, but just not at a competitive level. She plays intramural basketball at Franklin and was on the team that won the entire league last season.

 

            Caitlyn hopes to one day be showing her talent on the hangers of Kleinfelds, but as for now Sheff gets to share her passion and talent with her fellow Grizzlies on the volleyball court.