My mother's journey to the U.S was tough. Having to leave Czech, leaving everything she knew. But one thing that always stuck with her was her Czech Republic national volleyball team jersey. It represents the start of her professional volleyball career, and later on, her division 1 career. It was not easy to leave everything behind, but it was something she had to do. Czech was under communism at the time, and right when she left Czech to go to the U.S and play volleyball for George Mason University, the communism reign was over. She had only 3 years of college eligibility because she had already played pro volleyball. She broke many records that still stand strong today and won the CAA championship to make it to the national tournament. Sadly, they fell short in the quarter final round of the tournament. After her volleyball career was finished, she got a job at the Freedom Aquatic and Fitness center in Manassas VA. She has stayed loyal for over 25 years, and has ran a beginner and intermediate volleyball class for 20 of those 25 years. She has made an impact on not only me, but everybody in the community. She gives back as much as she can to the community whenever possible. I could confidently say her legacy has been set in stone all around the world, that's how great of a person she has been and is still today.

– Matt O'Brien

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