Each spring, the Abbotsford Sports Hall of Fame unveils its Wall of Fame, which honours top local athletes between the ages of 14 and 25 for their exploits in the previous year. Over the next few weeks, The News will be running a "Where are they now?" series, highlighting past Wall of Famers.
Since 2009, when Sofie Schlagintweit was inducted to Abbotsford's Sports Wall of Fame for volleyball, she has graduated with a bachelor of science degree in microbiology from Arizona State University.
The Yale Secondary grad received a full athletic scholarship to play volleyball with the Sun Devils (2008-2012), and she also played volleyball with the Canadian senior women's national team in 2009 and played in the NORCECA Tournament in Puerto Rico.
Schlagintweit earned a series of awards during her time at Arizona State, including All-Academic team honours in 2009 from the PAC-10 and ESPN Magazine, and the ASU student-athlete of the fall in 2011. She also served as Sun Devils captain in 2011-12.
A lingering shoulder injury slowed down her volleyball career, but the time she spent recovering from two surgeries was used to undertake academic research. Schlagintweit graduated from ASU in 2012 and received the Mouer Award which is presented to students with the highest GPA in each faculty. Sofie is currently studying medicine at the University of Toronto.
The work ethic and discipline she learned as an athlete and team member has helped her achieve her goals beyond her athletics and is an inspiration for young people to work hard and pursue their dreams.
• The 2014 Abbotsford Sports Hall of Fame banquet will be held Saturday, April 26 at the Legacy Sports Centre at Rotary Stadium. Tickets are available at Hub Fire Engines or at Hub Motor Service.