Valerie Larson:  

I am Val Larson and I attended Rainier K-12. Yes, I am one of those kids. I graduated in 2002 and was accepted to all 7 colleges I applied for. I chose WSU (GO COUGS!) because I like Eastern Washington and they gave me the most scholarship money. Once at WSU, I went in with the intention of getting a degree in Geology but found out I am not really a math or science person. I don't enjoy math, but I do like certain sciences. I changed my mind during my sophomore year to Sport Management with a minor in Leadership Studies. While at WSU, I played club fastpitch (Pac-10/12 fastpitch still does not currently exist) and we traveled all over the country to places that included Maryland, West Virginia and California. We did well. Because I changed majors, I had to be there a 5th year to complete all of my course requirements. I walked with my class May 2007 and received my degree that following December after my internship at Linfield College. When I was at Linfield, a small division III college in McMinnville, Oregon, I had the opportunity to work with the athletic director and the Sports Information Director. I even got to work with Scott Brosius, who played for the New York Yankees and won a few World Series. It was right up my alley. I loved it. Because of the economy in 2008, I had to return home because they could not support my salary (the budget was cut back). At home, I tried to find work to pay my bills. It was mostly seasonal and part-time. No one really wanted to hire full-time at that point. Some of those jobs included, working at my high school as a coach. Middle School girls' basketball a...Expand for more