While sitting in her first class of the day, a Legacy sophomore did not expect to be the center of attention, let alone embarrassed in front of the entire class not only by the athletic director Fred Crofford, but also her parents. Last semester Amanda Walter was selected by Crofford for the IBM High School Heroes weekly award and was caught off guard when she was presented a framed certificate during English class.

“I didn’t even know I was nominated,” she said. “So I was really surprised.”

The award is sponsored by the Colorado High School Activities Association and is given weekly to Students, coaches/sponsors, administrators and officials who have excelled in their sport or activity as well as contributing to the welfare of their community and school. Crofford nominated Walter for her skills in volleyball as well as her leadership.

“Amanda has excelled both academically and athletically and she maintains a high grade point average and is very active in her community,” he said. “She continues to be an asset to her team and encourages teammates by setting the bar high and then demonstrating how to reach it. She is a team leader.”

Walter attended a banquet on March 5 at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver. She and her father toured the facility, which was followed by a dinner and a guest speaker, Billy Thompson a former Denver Broncos player.

“We got to see the visitor locker rooms and where they keep the actual horse they use in the games,” she said.

Volleyball is not the only sport Walter plays. She has been playing soccer since she was a little kid and also plays basketball. She said it is hard to choose a favorite, but enjoys different aspects of each sport. She likes setting and serving the ball in volleyball, she likes the aggression needed in basketball and she likes kicking the ball far in soccer.

“I would have to say soccer is the hardest sport for me because it’s hard to control the ball with your feet,” she said.

Due to the closure of the high school program at Legacy Academy, Walter will be attending Elizabeth High School next year. She said she is still unsure whether she will continue her athletics at the new school.

“I think I might play volleyball because they have a team that plays and trains all year round,” she aid. “But I don’t know about basketball and soccer.”

In the future she plans to to to college and study something in the arts department, such as photography, music or culinary. But for now she is busy enough planning for the summer mission trip to Spain with her church.

“I’m learning Spanish and I’m really excited to see how what we can do to help,” she said. “The best part is just traveling to a new place and seeing how people do things different.”