My name is Olivia Bonsen and I am a sophomore at Washington State University. I was born and raised in the small town of Lynden, WA near the Canadian Border on the west side of the state. If you’ve ever heard about the town of Lynden, it probably involved something to do with high school sports, Dutch heritage, or the agriculture industry. Like most from my community, I am always proud to say that Lynden is my hometown.
Some of my hobbies include watching and following sports teams from the high school to the professional level, playing basketball in my spare time, petting as many dogs as possible, and binge watching episodes of Friday Night Lights, Criminal Minds, and The Office on Netflix.
As a student at Washington State University, I am majoring in Sport Management with a minor in Communication. I aspire to someday work for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA). This is an organization that oversees all high school sports as well as other activities such as band, drama, forensics, and dance teams. In high school, I played on the girl’s basketball team for four years and the girl’s soccer team for two years. Basketball was my favorite sport, and getting to play at Lynden is an experience that will stay with me forever. As a senior, I had the privilege of making it to the state championship game with my teammates who were some of my closest friends. Unfortunately we lost by a tiny margin of six points, but were still crowned the second place team in Washington. The memories I made with my teammates, the things I learned from my coaches, and the leaderships lessons I took away from my years playing for the Lynden Lions helped shape me into the person I am today. High school sports and activities DO matter, and they are something I am very passionate about. This is what put me on the path to pursuing a career with the WIAA. I want every high school student-athlete to be able to have the same rewarding experience that I was able to have. I believe that my passion and work ethic will be what lead me to success after I graduate from college.