MOUNT OLIVE, North Carolina — In the spring of 2020, the world was faced with a new and unique set of challenges that accompanied the hit of a global pandemic. Many college graduates who sought to join the work force upon graduation have faced the struggle of searching for opportunities to advance their career and few have been fortunate enough to be given that opportunity. Despite these truths, University of Mount Olive (UMO) women's volleyball alumnae Ania Keene has defied the odds and leapt into a new chapter of her life back home in Texas.

Originally from San Antonio Texas, Keene started playing volleyball when she was 12 years old. Her friends introduced her to the sport and it took some time for Keene to hone in on her talent. Due to not making her school team in neither fifth nor sixth grade, Keene was driven to train hard and become the competitive volleyball player she knew she could be.  

From years of developing her skills, Keene decided to pursue playing volleyball at a collegiate level and found herself at a Division II school called Cameron University, located in Oklahoma. Yet, after concluding her sophomore season at Cameron, Keene decided to transfer schools. Funny enough, Keene originally sought to relocate to a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and without doing much research, assumed UMO was on that list.

Once Keene came on her recruiting visit and found out that the Trojans did not fall into that category of colleges Keene was surprised but, before she had the chance to move on, the women's volleyball head coach at the time, Joelle Mafo sold her and told her everything she wanted to hear. Soon after, Keene was hooked to UMO and walked away from her recruitment trip thinking, "this is the place for me".

Keene did not have much trouble adjusting to life as a Trojan. She attributes her smooth transition to volleyball.

"When you are with your teammates every day, you just kind of instantly get close. To build a sisterhood again, that was a little bit weird but, it was only awkward for about a week or so before I already had a best friend and everything," Keene said.

Keene is fond of the time she spent at UMO. From dancing before games to living with her teammates, Keene says it is hard to choose her favorite moment because there are so many. Yet, one that stuck out the most was her team playing Southern Wesleyan on their home court her senior year.

"We had set goals in the locker room prior to playing and they weren't easy goals either... they were high goals for us to reach and we won that game. We won in five sets and then after the game we were celebrating and coach read everyone's goals and basically every single person on the team achieved their goals. It was awesome that we finally were able to do something good and meet our goals," Keene said.

In March of her senior year, Keene along with all of her fellow Trojans were forced to leave campus due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Keene spent months back home with her parents, looking to shift the unfortunate ending of her senior year to a positive opportunity that would advance her career. After a lot of searching and applying, Keene was given the opportunity to start a job on the welcoming team for a national insurance company called TRAVELERS Insurance

"I was just applying to a bunch of jobs and did a bunch of interviews and I got told 'no' a bunch of times but TRAVELERS Insurance gave me the opportunity so, I'm grateful for that."

Starting a new job during a global pandemic has served as an interesting, yet rewarding experience for Keene. Since she began her new job, Keene has had to work from home. Though this was a daunting situation to step into as a young employee, Keene tackled it head on and has enjoyed her time so far.

"I love it. I actually thought I was going to hate it because I'm not seeing my coworkers every day but our whole training session was through Zoom every day. For six weeks we were even getting mentoring and shadowing through Zoom every day while we were on the phone taking calls. It was definitely interesting but, the more I was at home and didn't have to leave my house or waste money on gas… I kind of loved it," Keene said.

Thinking back on her unique and difficult transition, Keene believes that being a student-athlete taught her positive habits she implemented when faced with this new challenge.

"I definitely think [being a student-athlete] has helped me. I feel like I am more competitive so, I want to be great at my job even when I know it's not the biggest deal to everyone…My name is tied to it, I get paid, and I'm on salary so I want be as good as I can," Keene said.

Keene takes pride in her work. Her competitiveness as a volleyball player has pushed her to strive for success in her new job. In addition to her competitive drive, Keene uses skills she adopted at UMO to keep her organized and productive in her new position.    

"I pay attention to details more because of all the little things you have to do as a student-athlete just to make sure you get everything done in your day. Like, having planners, setting alarms… I feel like I'm like that with work as well," Keene said.

While Keene has started a new phase of her life professionally she keeps volleyball in her life by coaching a u16 volleyball team for a club called Areté in McKinney, Texas. Being a coach is a way for Keene to keep volleyball close to her heart, while embracing the sport from a different perspective.

"I love it. I feel like I have learned so much. I feel like I have a good balance of being tough while still making sure that [the players] have fun and are learning every day," Keene said.

Volleyball is a part of Keene. No matter the goals she strives to achieve in her career, Keene is confident that she will always be connected to her sport.

"I just had that passion when I was 12 years old. I literally just can't get away from it. It makes me happy," Keene said.

The volleyball community at UMO remembers Keene as not only a crucial player but a positive presence on campus.

"Ania is the kind of person that makes those around her better, both on and off the court. Her infectious personality combined with great leadership skills is what we will truly miss about having her around," said Ali'i Keohohou, head men's volleyball coach for the Trojans.

Reflecting back on her time as a Trojan, Keene wanted to provide some guidance to current student-athletes at UMO.

"If you're a freshman, please take freshman year seriously grade wise because, that first GPA is going to set the tone for the rest of your four years," Keene suggests.  

As for volleyball, Keene advises student-athletes to, "Make sure you are still having fun and enjoying the sport. I've seen a lot of people lose their passion for the game but, whatever that person needs to do to still feel connected and still love it, I feel like they should definitely do that."

Lastly, Keene wants to reach out to her team with well wishes.

"I just want to say good luck to the girls there now and I hope they are having the best experience ever!"

Keene currently resides in Frisco, Texas.