Last July, senior Simone Adam committed to play Division III women’s volleyball at Johns Hopkins University. 

Adam started playing volleyball in seventh grade, but she played multiple sports before that, including baseball, basketball and football. When she started playing volleyball, it quickly became her favorite sport. “I really like the team aspect of it […] and the amount of time I get to spend with my friends on my teams.”

Senior and Boston College volleyball commit Hanna Hoffman has played with Adam on Menlo’s varsity volleyball team since their freshman year. “She has such a good balance of fun and competitiveness, and our playing styles really complement each other,” Hoffman said.

Connections like the one she has with Hoffman are what Adam loves most about Menlo volleyball. Volleyball’s nine seniors spent their entire four years playing together on various teams. “There were so many people in my grade, so my friends were also my teammates.” 

Playing collegiate sports was always something Adam wanted to do. Once she found volleyball, she knew that it was the sport she wanted to continue playing  in college. She began reaching out to coaches during her freshman year. 

Along with athletics, Adam and her family have always emphasized schoolwork. Her parents wanted her to prioritize both volleyball and her education in her college search. “I was looking for the best intersection between good volleyball and good academics.” 

Adam is interested in pursuing medicine in her future, so in addition to finding a school with strong academic programs overall, she wanted to find a college that could set her up well on that path.

Johns Hopkins checked both of those boxes for her. The university’s pre-med programs are renowned, as is its medical school. In terms of volleyball, Hopkins won the 2019 Division III National Championship and maintains a top ten ranking after the 2021 season. 

In addition to the school’s academic and athletic reputation, Adam chose Hopkins because of the team culture and the coaching staff. “I got to meet my teammates in July, and they were just the best people ever.”