Each year, one athlete from the NCCAA member institutions is chosen for the Division II Women’s Volleyball Game Plan 4 Life Character Award. The process includes submissions from every NCCAA team across the nation. The award is granted to honor a junior, senior, or graduate athlete that exemplifies leadership qualities and skills, Christian service, academic excellence, and a strong Christian testimony both on and off the court. This year, Calvary is honored to announce that Senior Tasha Krahn was a top four finalist and given recognition at the National Championship hosted in South Carolina.
One of Tasha’s most impacting leadership qualities is her ability to listen. She has been a Resident Assistant in the campus dormitory for two years and has been promoted to Female Resident Director this past fall. She shows leadership by organizing campus events as well as starting and operating Calvary’s t-shirt printing business, which took patience and a willingness to learn. A leader must also be willing to follow Christ’s example in serving others above all else. Tasha has been a team captain for volleyball for two seasons and she has shown sacrifice by always being willing to do what is best for the team. This past summer Tasha also served in a leadership role in an African orphanage where she acted as the house “mother” for a room full of boys.
Tasha’s eagerness to listen, learn, and serve are all driven by her desire to pursue excellence. Tasha almost chose not to return for her senior year and season because of a tragedy that changed her life this summer. She had been planning on marrying Kameron Wiebe this next summer of 2018, but a devastating phone call informed her that he had died instantly in a car accident. Though her life and future plans were shattered, she chose to return to her RA role as well as her role as a team captain. She understands now, more than ever, that her strength and ability to lead comes from Christ.
However, if you asked Tasha why she came back to school, she would tell you that it was neither for Kameron nor volleyball. She would explain that there is no place better for her to be than an institution and a volleyball program that seeks to encourage her and ground her in the life-giving truth of God’s Word. This shows true character. She continues to serve even when she feels like she has nothing left to give and when everything has been stripped away. She desires to lead when she feels as though the waves of sorrow have overtaken her ability to devote time and energy to those placed in her life. Though she admits she is broken, her character reflects Christ as she grows in her faith and knowledge and chooses to share with her classmates, teammates, faculty/staff, and even strangers what God has done for and through her and that when we are weak, He is strong.