It is day three of the Senior Spotlight Series this week leading up to the start of the 2017 beach season in Boca Raton, Florida, this Thursday. Today's subject is transfer and Ohio-native, Molly Shonk.
 
Brand-new to FIU, Shonk played two years of indoor volleyball at Georgia State before transferring to Lourdes University in Sylvania, Ohio. She was awarded Newcomer of the Year (2015), named First Team All-Conference (2015-2016), First Team All-Region (2015) and NAIA Third Team All-American (2015). Not accepting the fact that her collegiate volleyball career was over, she reached out to FIU Head Coach Rita Buck-Crockett and landed a spot on the Panthers' 2017 beach volleyball team.
 
While embracing the new role, Shonk says, "Beach and indoor are two completely different sports. But I am learning fast and it's definitely an awesome opportunity to play with girls that are at such a high caliber."
 
From being on a team with one international player to being the minority on the squad, Shonk has had quite the culture shock coming to FIU. "It's weird trying to adjust to a language barrier. But everyone is very welcoming and positive," she said. Shonk enjoys learning different customs from her teammates and loves her roommate, freshman Federica Frasca, who teaches her how to speak and cook like a true Italian.
 
Shonk's Keys to Success: "I've learned over my four years of collegiate athletics that it's mainly a mindset. You have to want to work, you have to want to be better, or else nothing is going to come out of it."
 
Pre-Match Rituals: Shonk's favorite pre-match song is "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. She listens to it on repeat before matches to get her fired up.
 
Hobbies: Shonk's favorite thing to do in her spare time is to explore the vibrant city of Miami. Some of her favorite places include the artsy Wynwood district and of course, South Beach.
 
What she will miss most: "The competition," Shonk says. "I have a competitive mindset and I am going to miss that in the real world."
 
Although Shonk is new to the environment and team at FIU, she says it is a "good different." Her favorite memory thus far was during a team bonding exercise where she was able to learn more about where everyone came from, what they play for and what they had to leave behind. Shonk says that she is extremely happy with her decision to come to FIU.
 
Upon graduation Shonk plans to land a career in the criminal justice field. But she still has one year of beach volleyball eligibility left which she intends to take full advantage of. 

She has one thing to say to her teammates before the season begins this Thursday, "No matter what the situation is, let's play as a team and keep fighting for each other."

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A.Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, theWolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA andhas over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.