Former Pioneer Athlete Joins San Diego Wave
Naomi Girma selected as first round draft pick in National Women’s Soccer League
By Ethan Percival
Naomi Girma selected as first round draft pick in National Women’s Soccer League
By Ethan Percival
Pioneer class of 2017 graduate was so certain about her path in life, she gave her English teacher a Stanford pennant while she was still a sophomore.
After her Mustang career, Girma played defender at Stanford all four years and was named a captain of the team for her final three years. She
was a two-time PAC-12 Champion from 2018 and 2019, and a NCAA Champion from her sophomore year at Stanford, and joined the United States National Team on Nov. 19, 2019. In December, she was selected first in the 2022 National Women’s Soccer League draft by the San Diego Wave FC.
Along with soccer, Girma was also a part of track and field at Pioneer for a year and throughout her time had a positive experience.
“My experience at Pioneer was a mix of school, soccer, and friends. I have a lot of fond memories that came out of high school,” said Girma.
English teacher Jason Goldman-Hall said that although Girma had to travel for club soccer games, and sometimes miss classes because of it, she was still able to excel academically.
“Naomi was an incredible student, and obviously a gifted athlete, but the thing that stuck out the most was that she missed probably half the school year traveling for soccer, but still kept up on her reading and did better on her assignments than her classmates, because she never let herself do anything but her best,” said Goldman- Hall.
English teacher Michelle Bowman also had Girma as a student in her AP Literature class.
“She was incredible. She always did more than was necessary,” said Bowman. “She had such a positive attitude. She got really sick during the year she was with me, but she would email me every day. She had a test to take, and one of her coaches proctored it while she was traveling. She’s just such an awesome person.”
Girma believes that the encouragement from her teachers at Pioneer was a big part of her success.
“I learned how to manage my time and ask for help when I needed it. For a lot of high school, I missed at least one week of each school month,” said Girma, “Although I put a lot of time and effort into performing in school, I would not have been successful without the support from my teachers at Pioneer who helped me in any way they could. With their support, I managed my school while traveling around the world, and was able to graduate as a class valedictorian.”
With a new group of student athletes, Girma gave advice to current students. “Run your own race,” said Girma. “A lot of times in sports it feels as if everyone is racing to reach the next accomplishment. While it’s important to be competitive, there’s also value in taking a step back, focusing on your own development, and setting individual goals that you can pace yourself with.”
After her Mustang career, Girma played defender at Stanford all four years and was named a captain of the team for her final three years. She
was a two-time PAC-12 Champion from 2018 and 2019, and a NCAA Champion from her sophomore year at Stanford, and joined the United States National Team on Nov. 19, 2019. In December, she was selected first in the 2022 National Women’s Soccer League draft by the San Diego Wave FC.
Along with soccer, Girma was also a part of track and field at Pioneer for a year and throughout her time had a positive experience.
“My experience at Pioneer was a mix of school, soccer, and friends. I have a lot of fond memories that came out of high school,” said Girma.
English teacher Jason Goldman-Hall said that although Girma had to travel for club soccer games, and sometimes miss classes because of it, she was still able to excel academically.
“Naomi was an incredible student, and obviously a gifted athlete, but the thing that stuck out the most was that she missed probably half the school year traveling for soccer, but still kept up on her reading and did better on her assignments than her classmates, because she never let herself do anything but her best,” said Goldman- Hall.
English teacher Michelle Bowman also had Girma as a student in her AP Literature class.
“She was incredible. She always did more than was necessary,” said Bowman. “She had such a positive attitude. She got really sick during the year she was with me, but she would email me every day. She had a test to take, and one of her coaches proctored it while she was traveling. She’s just such an awesome person.”
Girma believes that the encouragement from her teachers at Pioneer was a big part of her success.
“I learned how to manage my time and ask for help when I needed it. For a lot of high school, I missed at least one week of each school month,” said Girma, “Although I put a lot of time and effort into performing in school, I would not have been successful without the support from my teachers at Pioneer who helped me in any way they could. With their support, I managed my school while traveling around the world, and was able to graduate as a class valedictorian.”
With a new group of student athletes, Girma gave advice to current students. “Run your own race,” said Girma. “A lot of times in sports it feels as if everyone is racing to reach the next accomplishment. While it’s important to be competitive, there’s also value in taking a step back, focusing on your own development, and setting individual goals that you can pace yourself with.”