- November 23, 2024
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Student athlete Kimberly Collins’ days at Seabreeze High School are coming to an end.
After four years of attending SHS, Collins will be graduating Friday, June 4 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach. She's wrapping up her senior year with a 4.6 GPA, an AA from Daytona State College, four years of participation in sports every season, and an acceptance into her first choice college: Vanderbilt University.
“Right now, my major is biomedical engineering,” Collins said. “I feel like it gives me the best of both worlds. I’ve always thought I wanted to be a doctor but it doesn’t feel like the right fit for me right now. I’m still very interested in having a career in the medical field without being in direct patient care. This way, I will still be able to make an impact by creating new technology for hospitals or designing prosthetic limbs.”
Self-motivation and an instinct toward competitiveness pushed Collins to excel in academics while her athletic ability pushed her toward competing in multiple sports throughout high school. Originally from Minnesota, her first introduction to sports was cross-country skiing, basketball and golf during her elementary school years. Her mother, Gosia Collins, forced her to take ballet which she attributes to a certain grace that she brings to other activities.
In middle school she moved to Citrus County, Florida where they had team sports. Collins participated in tennis, golf, track and basketball. She never wanted to specialize because she enjoyed playing different sports and having different teammates with the change of each season. In her sophomore year, she knew she would not be playing sports in college, so her goal was to excel in as many as possible while having a great time in high school.
For four years, Collins has participated in two sports during the spring season: tennis and track. This year was no different. She and doubles partner Geraldine Garcia went to the state championship. In track, she qualified to go to regionals in four events: high jump, long jump, pole vault and triple jump.
“I met Kimberly Collins as a quiet and intense freshmen at tennis try outs,” said former Seabreeze head tennis coach Jacklyn Gion. “I remember thinking when she told me that she was also going to do track during the spring that it would probably only last one season. Kim completely proved me wrong. For the last four years, she has maintained and excelled as a varsity athlete competing in two sports during one season, a feat that is rare.”
All of Collins’ coaches expressed appreciation in, not only her natural athletic ability and competitiveness, but her kindness and strength of character.
“Kimberly Collins represents all the best parts of Seabreeze High School,” Seabreeze track coach Jenna Meyers-Sinett said. “I am proud to know that she will be joining the ranks of great SHS alumni, alongside her current head tennis coach Angela Hendry. I feel lucky to have been a small piece of her high school experience, and I look forward to hearing of the greatness she will bring to her college campus and beyond.”
