Photo courtesy of Toffy Prakittiphoom ’24
Fernanda Opazo ’25 serves during a home volleyball game.
Fernanda Opazo ’25, a new sophomore from Chile, has quickly become a star setter for Girls’ Varsity Volleyball. Born and raised in Chile, Opazo just set foot in the U.S. a month ago.
Opazo came to the U.S. in hopes of experiencing what she could not at home. Luckily, she has found that here at Choate. “The education here is amazing. The courses are amazing,” she said.
At the same time, moving to a foreign country has been a challenge. The language barrier is one aspect that Opazo struggles with. “It’s hard to communicate on the court because English is definitely not my first language.” Thankfully, many of the other Latinas on her team have helped her communicate with teammates and coaches. She also shared that American volleyball is entirely different from what she is accustomed to playing at home. OpazoShe commented, “It’s a different game. The biggest difference I encountered was the speed in which the game was played and the difference in setting technique.” Although transitioning to a new setting has had its difficulties, Opazo has thoroughly enjoyed her experience so far.
Despite having only been on the team for a few weeks, Opazo has found great joy in the sense of camaraderie she shares with her teammates. She said, “I really like the people here. The volleyball team is so nice. They are so amazingly good.” The team has had an extremely successful season so far and Opazo is proud of how they have learned and grown together in the past few weeks. She has seen much growth among them both mentally and physically since the start of their season.
Although it is not Opazo’s goal to go pro, she aspires to play volleyball in college, whether it’s D1 or D3. Opazo has become an exciting new addition to the team and settled in quickly. She is excited to continue a great start to the season with the volleyball team!
