ATLANTA -- With the academic year coming to a close, this week we are celebrating our student-athletes' accomplishments in the classroom. We sat down with walk-on volleyball player, Heaven Varner. The freshman knows several coding languages and has a passion for math and science.
A Georgia native, Varner's interest in STEM began at a young age. Many of her family members, including her mom, have degrees in STEM and work in corresponding fields.
"My family helped me get introduced to science and math concepts and from there I fell in love with it," said Varner.
In high school Varner had the chance to take computer science and programming classes. Her teacher, Lavita Williams, became one of her primary mentors. Williams helped instill the confidence Varner needed to believe that she was prepared and belonged in the field, even if Varner is sometimes the only woman in the room. With this confidence Varner sought out opportunities outside of the classroom to further develop her coding skills. She participated in hackathons, the Google Computer Science Summer Institute, and other coding events in her community.
Although early in her college career, Varner already has impressive career goals. She wants to work in pediatric medicine as a doctor while also doing research in genetic and surgical engineering. One of Varner's primary goals is to give minority girls, who are largely underrepresented in the STEM community, a chance to see a familiar face to connect with as a mentor. Currently she works with younger kids as a math, science, and coding tutor in her free time.
"For me, having a mentor that was an African American woman and my mother working with me so closely made a huge impact on the confidence I had in my STEM abilities," said Varner. "I want to give other girls that opportunity. Later in my life I would love to expand my range to areas such as healthcare."
Many of the lessons she has learned on the volleyball court have helped in her academic journey. Through sport she has learned to have a growth mindset. Whether attacking a practice drill or figuring out a new problem, Varner has learned how to have confidence to grow her knowledge of a subject or skill when it does not always come to her easily. Additionally, the feeling of figuring out a difficult code or math problem gives Varner the same feeling as a big win on the court.
Varner and the rest of the Panthers will begin their season when school resumes in the fall. This will mark Varner's first season playing in downtown Atlanta.
"Everything about this upcoming season excites me," said Varner. "We have all been working so hard and really growing our team dynamic, so we cannot wait to put everything to the test!"
