Senior Emily Le, who first picked up the soccer ball when she was 4 years old, has had  her childhood dream of playing college soccer come  true.

In June, she committed to play for Trinity International University, a Division 1 private Christian school in Deerfield, Illinois. 

In addition to being on the Diamond Bar High School girls varsity soccer team, Le is also involved with the club Legends FC. She has won several soccer awards in DBHS, including Rookie of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and was chosen as first team All-League Honors for Southern California. Le was also selected to be a representative of her club at the Southwest Girl’s Academy. 

“A lot of my success has been due to the great amount of support I have always gotten from my parents as they are always my number one and my rocks,” Le said via Instagram. “I’ve also had many great coaches and friends along the way that I will always be eternally grateful for.” 

Before she selected Trinity International, Le received offers from  Carnegie Mellon University, John and Wales University, Westmont College and Notre Dame de Namur University in Northern California. 

“I chose Trinity as I know it’ll help me and benefit me most to reach my ultimate goal of entering the medical field, while still being able to play soccer at a higher level in college,” Le said via Instagram. 

Le said she will be playing on both an academic and sports scholarship. 

“I’ve always known I wanted to leave California for college, and was always told by my parents that I couldn’t unless it was on a scholarship. I received both sports and academic scholarship,” Le said via Instagram. 

According to their website, Trinity International offers merit-based scholarships to students based on “rigor of and performance in secondary school coursework, standardized test scores, strength of essay, involvement outside of the classroom, and recommendations from school officials.”

Le said  that she looks forward to playing soccer with her new teammates at Trinity. 

“I went on an official visit in February and got to stay in the dorms with all the girls and met pretty much everyone, but many of them will probably have graduated when I attend,” Le said via Instagram. “They’re all super kind and are so welcoming. A few of them are mutual followers with me on social media as well.”

Aside from college, Le said that  soccer has played an important role in shaping her life, and she has made life-long friends and memories through the sport. 

“I’ve always had a bittersweet relationship with soccer, but it is obviously a huge part of my life. I have learned so many lessons through the game and am so grateful for all the opportunities it has brought me,” Le said via text. “My best memory was winning a tournament in France last summer called the Paris World Games, which was pretty awesome.” 

Le referred to soccer as an emotional outlet that allows her to be herself while she is on the field. 

“When times get stressful or when I tend to get bad anxiety, playing soccer just lets me be free and escape from it all.,” Le said via Instagram. “It allows me to express myself in a way I’m unable to show off of the field”

Le said  that there are many things she would like to tell a kid who wants to play college soccer when they are older. 

“It’s important to push yourself out of your comfort zone and learn to adapt to new environments and situations and to always trust themself,” Le said via Instagram. “But most importantly, they must always remember the love they have for the game and at the end of the day, what matters most is the passion they continue to hold.”