Everything I Am: A Collection of Appreciation to Our Heroes

By Marco Salas

Heroes inspire us. They ignite the spark in us to achieve goals we thought we could never
accomplish. For instance, my hero is my father, especially since he’s always there rooting for
me on the sidelines whether rain or shine, or whether I’m having a good or bad day. Talking to
other student-athletes, I was able to hear who their hero is and how much of an impact their
hero had on them. Each story a dedication and thank you for supporting and inspiring their
dreams.

Making the Most of an Opportunity

Jarrett Bell, a redshirt sophomore offensive lineman on the football team owes his gratitude to
his aunt and uncle, Michele Bell and Bruce Luce.
They adopted Bell at a young age due to family issues. Regardless, Michele and Bruce raised
Bell as if he was their own.

“They saved me, they got me on track and made me the person I am today, Bell said.

Bell knows that his aunt and uncle didn’t have to adopt him, the fact that they did is what
inspires Bell to be the best version that he can be.

“They brought me in and put me under their wings when they didn’t have to. They gave me the
opportunity to live a better life than the rest of my family and make better choices. Just to have
that opportunity in my life I couldn’t be any more thankful.”

Bell wanted to make the most out of the opportunity that his aunt and uncle gave him and set out
with a list of goals.

“They helped me get my head on straight. They taught me the difference between right and
wrong. They gave me the opportunity to have goals and actually achieve them by teaching me
maturity and responsibility. My uncle was in the Marines, so he instilled a lot of the military side
into me which helped me grow up faster by learning how to take responsibility and what it
means to be mature.”

His first goal was to earn a division one scholarship. He wanted to make his aunt proud and
prove to her that he isn’t like his family.

“The first goal I set for myself was I wanted to go to college and get a division one scholarship.
Those were my first two main goals, but the main goal was to graduate high school of course and
then take it to the next level in college. Being able to achieve that for her so all the money she
invested in me, so she didn’t have to pay for college and stuff like that. Just for her to see my
success and hopefully I can continue that all the way through life because I owe it all to them.”
Making the Sacrifice
Ever since he was little, Cody Bybee, a Junior on the swim team, knew he wanted to swim.
Although he played other sports growing up, swimming was natural for him. His heroes, Dawn
and Rusty Bybee, inspired him to chase that dream.

According to Bybee, he got into swimming when he was around seven or eight. His mother
signed him up for swimming lessons because one of her students was a part of it. From there
on, his swimming career took off.

“I did swim lessons and the next thing I guess I was a natural. I floated really well and things like
that, those things you learn in lessons. I joined a club team not very seriously just four, five
times a week on a YMCA team. At this point I think I was still playing baseball, basketball and
even soccer at this point. I eventually narrowed it down and still played baseball until I was 14-
15 years old until I went swimming full time. Until the age of 13-14 I kinda realized I was pretty
good. Maybe I should join a club team. At that time, I was on a YMCA and then I joined a club
team.”

Bybee joined the Dayton Raiders Swim Club, a club that took Bybee’s talents to the next level.

To get to this point, Bybee owes it to his parents for sacrificing time to get him to grown and be
successful in swimming.

When Bybee joined his new club, his practices were at 5 A.M. While most people were sleeping,
Bybee’s parents would make sure he was there on time, a testament to show how willing they
were to make sure their son could succeed in athletics.

“My parents they always believed in me. They always pushed me to do better, and to be more,
and to push myself, and they are the biggest factor I am where I am today. They always
believed in me and they made a lot of sacrifices for me. I remember when I when I was 14 and I
had just joined a new team (we moved right before high school) and so I still lived 45 minutes
away from the pool where I practiced and I didn’t have a car because I was 14, so when I had
morning practice at 5:00 AM they would get up and I had another buddy on the scene who
lived near me so we would carpool to practice together in the morning so I would get up at 3:45
and my parents would drive me to practice at 4:00 AM or one of my mom or my dad or
whoever it was that day and I don't know many parents who make that kind of sacrifice to their
kids just to be great at athletics at such a young age as well.”

The determination Bybee’s parents displayed to him rubbed off on him, as he was determined
to be great.

According to Bybee, his work ethic stems from his parents and how he was raised to know
things took time.
When Bybee was a freshman in high school, he placed third in the state finals. Although he
thought that was good for being a freshman and all, his dad told him told, “Third is good, but I
know you can do better.”

That stuck to Bybee as he used that mentality to train and get to the level where he was faster
and competing at National events. Everything came together in his junior year of high school.

“It was all a compound effect that in athletics in general it’s something that can happen
overnight. It takes years and years of dedication going in and putting work every single day.”
 The Little Things in Life

Emily Glagolev, a Junior on the Women’s Lacrosse team, has always seen her parents, Chris and
John Glagolev, as her heroes.

When she was young, she remembers her mother always talking about the small details in life.
“Growing up, they always taught me to do the right thing. My mom in particular would always
do-little things that she would do that would shape the way I live my life today. I always
remembered if I did something in school to get in trouble, she would always make us write a
handwritten letter and have to turn it in and apologize that way. I think it’s just little things like
that kind of taught me to be the way I am and I just respect that a lot now looking back on it
and I think that is kind of the reason I am the way I am today.”

Moments like these showed Glagolev how to appreciate the small things her parents would do
for her and her siblings. Each summer Glagolev and her three other siblings would be in
different places at once doing their own thing.

“I have three other siblings and I think for like 15 years every summer they would be away. We
would all be in different places at once. So, they would be separate, and they would have to
send us off with different families. So, I think that’s something they had to sacrifice a lot.
Obviously (the) financial side of that I appreciate so much, all the training that helped me be
able to do and the club practices and all that stuff, I know that’s a lot. So not just the time they
spent but the money they were willing to spend to help me be successful is something I will
always appreciate.”

Glagolev and her siblings all grew up playing lacrosse. They all got into lacrosse because her
brother first started playing it.

“My brother was the first, he’s the oldest and he was playing baseball and my dad didn't really
like watching that as much so he was like, ‘hey how would like to hit someone with a stick?’ and
my brother was like, ‘that sounds awesome!’, so he started it. It kinda just went down the line,
everyone fell in love with it and being the youngest I just was always watching it and I think that
forced me to love it which I definitely appreciate.”

During her high school years, Glagolev remembers going on college recruiting trips with her dad
and they would always drive to each campus. According to Glagolev, each trip was memorable
because her dad would try to not talk about lacrosse as much because he knew his daughter
wanted a break from the sport.

Because of that, Glagolev says the recruiting process was easier to handle because they never
talked about sports the whole time, it was always about how she would fit at the school and if
she could see herself at that school.

When she plays, Glagolev always thinks about the word, “believe,” a word’ her mom would
always say to her in their conversations to inspire her.
“My mom would always say believe and I think that’s something I always think about. Whether
that be believing in myself or believing in other people just going back to like believing in the
preparation that I’ve done or trusting other people.”

Small things like that all add up together to show the appreciation and care Glagolev’s parents
have done to make her, and her siblings, successful.

Always Being There

Ralph Frias, a redshirt sophomore offensive lineman, has always been inspired by his number
one fan, his grandma, Patsy Abalos.
Ever since he was little, Frias remembers his grandma always being at all of his games. If
someone needed to be somewhere, she would be there.

In 2016, Abalos was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Hearing a loved one has cancer is hard,
especially for Frias since his grandma was his everything.

“She’s been an inspiration just because she does a lot especially you know with her being
diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Hearing the word cancer sucks especially having it come back.
What makes her a hero is what she does, and she continues to do. For example, for me and my
cousins, she’ll do anything in her power to make sure people are where they need to be and
check up on us and make sure we have food, just little necessities. She’s a great supporter
coming out to our soccer, football, baseball and basketball games, she’s gonna be there. Even
being on chemotherapy and fighting her cancer is an inspiration seeing her go out and be
there.”

At one point, Abalos was in remission but then the cancer came back. Seeing her fight through
it is the biggest motivation for Frias.

Before each game, Frias said that he would write the initials of his grandma and his family on
his wrists to remember who he’s doing everything for. His ultimate goal is to take care of his
grandma, the way she would take care of him.

“I write her and my families initials on my wrist before every game. I would write gospels on my
wrist and their initials down to just look down and remember the people who got me here to
this point. I have a personal goal to make it to the league and one day having to take care of the
family would be a huge accomplishment. Just being there and making sure she’s alright.”
 Inspired by Serena

Samantha Plaster, a senior on the Women’s Beach Volleyball team, has always seen Tennis star,
Serena Williams, as her biggest inspiration. Ever since the first time she saw her on T.V., Plaster
knew she wanted to be like Williams.

“My biggest hero is Serena Williams and I say that because I’m really inspired by strong and
powerful women and how they earn respect from their peers especially in their sport. I love
how successful Serena Williams has made herself.”

Plaster aims to be like Williams one day, not just in her respective sport, but in life.

“Her hard work I value, and I aim to be as respected as her, good at my sport and good in life as
her. She is such a boss.”

While Williams has left her impact on her sport, Plaster is doing the same thing; whenever she
goes home to Flowemound, Texas, she helps out at the club she used to play at, inspiring new
athletes to take interest in the sport.

“Whenever I come home over the summer, I coach beach volleyball at my local club and I
always tell them you should try and play in college because I don’t want these girls thinking that
college sports is all about football and basketball, which is a big part of it and I love going to
these events, but I want them to know you can play sports in college and it’s so much fun and
worth it. I learned so much being a student-athlete and I feel like if these girls are inspired or
see me playing and doing well and having fun that they’ll want to be a part of the college
student-athlete experience as well.”

Her favorite memory was helping a boy who wanted to be a part of the club, even if he was one
of the only boys.

“There was this little boy who went to our club and I loved hanging out with him and coaching
him too because there, he was kind of an outsider, because it was an all-girls club. It was so
much fun coaching him, and his name was Sam also, which is my name, so we bonded over that
and he made me an anklet and I loved coaching him and hanging out with him,” Paster said.

Paster has been coaching for two years now but hasn’t been able to this year due to COVID-19.
Her main goal is to inspire and help little kids through beach volleyball.

Being There When it Matters

Madison Preston, a Senior on the softball team, is inspired by her two sisters, Karson and
Morgan, who are on the frontlines battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During everything that’s been going on right now, my biggest heroes are definitely my sisters
because they’re both nurses. They both have gone through a lot with the COVID stuff and one
of my sisters has kind of sacrificed herself by being more exposed by possibly getting sick with
the type of work she’s doing at the hospital. They’re both my heroes for being at the hospital.”

Her youngest sister Morgan is a part of the transport team who brings in patients and her
oldest sister, Karson, who has an immune deficiency, is still working, but not on the front lines.

Preston describes the bond with her sisters as a tight knit bond because they would always
support each other. Preston would play a lot of club games outside of Missouri, so when she
was able to play in her home state, it was special because it meant her sisters would be able to
go.

“They always came and supported me, sometimes it was hard because I was travelling all over
the place for travel ball and we almost never played in Missouri. School ball just like with their
work schedules and stuff, sometimes it was hard for them to come but pretty much every game
they would come to, they would. Having them come to a game was really special because they
don’t get to very often.”

Her sisters were planning a trip to come watch her play this year, but then COVID hit.

When they do get to see each other, it’s something special that can only be experienced with a
tight sibling bond. They’re able to pick things up like they never left and create memories with
each other during their time together.

“when we get to come together, it’s like really fun, we bounce off each other’s energy. We
always miss each other a lot, or they miss me I guess, they get to see each other, so it’s always
fun to have the gang back together.”

We all got into the position we’re in today because of the heroes that inspired us. They show us
that we’re capable of doing things that we never thought were able to be achieved, and thanks
to them we’re able to become the best version of ourselves. Whether these heroes be our
family, or even a professional sports player, there is always going to be someone out there that
inspires us.