Treasure Coast Education
5 STUDENT ATHLETES OF INTEREST
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would put her in the top 5 percent. She came to school every
single day motivated. IB is very demanding because you
go beyond the educational part of it. Crystal wanted to get
everything she could out of the program.”
Durham, as part of her extracurricular requirements of the
IB program, played volleyball in Amsterdam, Netherlands, as
a sports ambassador through the People to People organization.
When she was 12, Durham became the first “Kids’ Jeopardy”
winner from St. Lucie County, winning $15,700 on the
final question. For the artistic contribution to IB she danced
for senior citizens and at local events.
“She’s personable and always ready to go,” says Jamie
Spooner, IB English teacher. “She was in the top 10 percent
of all my students. Crystal put a lot of effort into her studies,
although she struggled at times. She accepted criticism and
always applied it to the next scenario.”
How did she do so well in high school? Durham’s answer
is simple. “The hardest part is managing my time well,” she
says. “I never got home until 6 p.m. because of practice and
games. And then there is two hours of homework. You try
and get things done and still get some sleep at the end of the
day. I would say work hard because in the end it really does
pay off.”
And the secret value of high school sports, according to
Durham: “It taught me how not to be a sore loser and play
well with others. And it kept me in shape.”
Name: Crystal Durham
Age: 18
School: University of Florida
GPA: 4.84 weighted
Family: father, Rusty; mother,
Patricia; sister, Mary
Greatest athletic accomplishment:
“We had our five-game
curse in volleyball against Centennial High School where we
always had to play five games whether we won or lost. When
you have a five-game match it lasts two and a half hours and it
is exhausting. And we beat them in four games.”
What inspires me: “Volleyball, softball and even dance are
team sports. Knowing that how hard I work also benefits my
teammates inspires me to persevere and work harder.”
Plans after high school: “I am going to major in athletic training
and enjoy college with my friends.”