Kicking Off College: Alum Ava Weiland graduates high school a semester early to play soccer at Santa Clara University

Between AP Psychology Quizlets and AP Statistics study guides in preparation for winter finals, East alum Ava Weiland didn’t know a month from then she’d be on a plane to Santa Clara as a college student. 

“It was scary because going to class on the first day I was like ‘I went to high school a month ago,’” Ava said. “And now I’m in college and it’s just crazy.”

Now, Ava lives on campus at Santa Clara University where she trains with her team, after committing to play D1 soccer there in September 2022. 

Graduating early was something she’d always considered but it wasn’t until her coach at Santa Clara suggested it last December while Ava was recovering from a torn ACL, that she took it seriously.

“Injury was part of it because you can have a lot more attention with the trainers and strength and conditioning coaches out in [Santa Clara] and starting to get used to soccer again with the people and the speed of play that you’ll be playing with,” Ava said. “It was the best decision.”

Ava had been counting down the days until she could move to Santa Clara since her first visit at the beginning of her junior year. She’d looked at other schools, but the Santa Clara coaches and team made an impression that made her decision easy, and a week after her trip she had officially committed there.

“[The coaches] just cared a lot about me as a person and not just me as a player,” Ava said. “They would ask about my family and how school was going. They didn’t just care about the soccer side of things and [they’re people] I’m gonna respect and admire as an authoritative figure for four years and beyond.”

After deciding early graduation was the right path for her, Ava started the process at the beginning of winter break in hopes she’d graduate by January. That meant writing a seven-page research paper, creating a multimedia presentation about universal healthcare and passing the AP Government final test all in two weeks, all while packing and purchasing dorm room furnishings.

“It was completely chaotic, we didn’t know what we were doing,” Ava’s mother, Valerie said. “We bought stuff thinking well I guess we could always return it if it didn’t work out.”

Ava took the final test needed to graduate on Jan. 4 and found out she passed later that same day at 3:30 p.m. Relieved that they wouldn’t have to cancel their flights to California the very next day they double-checked their packing lists and left. Her family headed to Santa Clara not sure what dorm she’d have or who her roommate would be.

After a few AirBnB extensions, Ava’s mother and brother had to head home. Ava’s father, Kurt stayed longer until there was a dorm ready for Ava to move into. A few extra days into Ava’s move-in, Santa Clara was able to work out what dorm she’d have. After settling in, classes like critical thinking and writing or sociology began on top of training. It was a chance for her to prove what the coaches had seen in her during the recruiting process. Her parents still reflect on Ava’s recruiting process with gratitude because of the extent of coaches that wanted their daughter to play for college teams.

“As a parent, when coaches are seeing your kid for the defensive things and the other things she excelled at was cool because everybody talks about scoring goals, they don’t talk about defending,” Kurt said. “But to hear some of the best coaches of college soccer talking about your kid positively from a defensive perspective was cool.”

Ava’s days are now filled with classes, practices and meals at the dining halls with teammates.

Nights are filled with locker lounge room movie nights with her teammates, watching the “Maze Runner” or “Teen Wolf” series.

“I feel like I’m adjusting well,” Ava said. “The team is nice, they’re all super friendly. I’m becoming good friends with some of them and it will make it that much easier in the fall when we are playing actual games in conference.”