Leonora Barbulovich-Nad

• Ambitious
• Hard-working
• Responsible
• Optimistic
• Perseverant

In volleyball, points can never be won by one by just one player, so communicating with my teammates and supporting each other is key to our success. On the court, I am always energized and competitive. My optimistic energy, aggressive offence, and give-it-your-all attitude during games encourages my teammates to also play competitively. Whether I am on or off the court, I provide reassurance, support, and tips to my teammates. In huddles, I motivate my team to push for next point. I lead by example by being optimistic, and calm and collected under pressure, and my teammates pick up on this energy which helps them feel more confident and play to their best.

The biggest highlight for me was being invited to play with the 17u “A” team at the 2022 JVA World Cup Challenge in Kentucky. They were short on players and I was honoured and super excited when they asked me to join them. At first, I was a bit nervous, but playing with them in Kentucky was one of the best experiences of my volleyball career. Playing against a higher level of competition taught me a lot and gave me an example I look up to as inspiration. Later, they invited me to play for them at the OVA Provincials too! We went undefeated the first two days and I was proud to have contributed to our success. Being part of such a strong team has been an honouring and invaluable learning experience.

Outside of sports, I’m interested in topics related to science. In school, my favourite subjects are Biology and Chemistry, both of which I excel at. Science hooks me because I’m curious and interested in understanding in detail why things are the way they are. Learning about science explains some of my observations and helps me see the world around me with a deeper lens.

I’m passionate about entrepreneurship; during the summer break of 2021, I started my own successful dog walking business from scratch, as I love creating and developing something myself.

One of my other passions outside of school and sports is bullet journaling. I use it as my creative outlet, and I love being able to experiment with different artistic techniques. Most importantly, it helps me stay organised and keep track of important events.

Did ballet at National Ballet School of Canada, Associates level 6, 2012 – 2019.
Piano at North York Suzuki Music School, Book 2, 2012-2019.

During the summer, I play beach volleyball. Training beach volleyball ensures that I am a well-rounded volleyball player, as there are no highly specialized positions and players need to be good in all skills to succeed. Also, practicing on the sand helps me become more agile and faster, and the skills I learn on the beach help me be a better player on the court indoors.

I’ve also been doing horseback riding since third grade. I enjoy it because working as team and communicating with the horse to do amazing things together is a special and fulfilling experience. I also value being a multi-sport athlete because it gives me an opportunity to develop different muscles in my body and allows me to be active in a variety of ways.

An academic highlight for me was when I was accepted into the highly competitive SHAD 2022 program, which is a month-long summer program at Canadian university campuses where you learn about university–level STEM and entrepreneurship content, and get access to great mentors. Going to SHAD means a lot to me, so I was absolutely thrilled when I received my acceptance letter. I was proud of myself because I put a lot of effort and sacrificed lots of time to craft a strong application, and my hard work paid off.

In university, I plan to pursue a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and/or Neuroscience. I find the brain and human behaviour fascinating, and is something that I am curious and passionate about.

I envision my time in university to be one of the most memorable years of my life. It will be a time where I focus on volleyball and academics. I look forward to playing volleyball at the next level, developing as an athlete, and pursuing my academic interests while making new friends and sharing new life experiences with them. I’m excited to be in a community with like-minded hard workers, and be surrounded by knowledgeable coaches and mentors.