Havriluk: People Person
November 05, 2003 10:00 AM | General
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November 1, 2003
The minimal humidity, the palm trees swaying in the breeze, superstars lurking in the next town over, a prime location within an hour's drive of beautiful beaches or a scenic mountain view.
Yes, Southern California is undoubtedly an incredible place.
So why would Dimitra Havriluk, a Newport Beach, Calif., native, be so intrigued to spend four years of her life in an area that projects a dissimilar climate and a antithetical-Golden State lifestyle?
After chatting with the senior outside hitter, it's evident that sustaining a change in scenery and interacting with different people is something she values to the highest degree.
"After coming to the East for one of my sister's soccer tournaments in Virginia, I immediately fell in love with the region," she says. "I knew I wanted to come out here without even visiting the school. The potential of new experiences was very appealing to me."
Havriluk, the youngest of three sisters, also desired to digress from the paths of her siblings, who both attended college at California-Berkeley.
A route that "little" Havriluk, who stands at six-feet, flat-footed, did choose to follow in the footsteps of her sisters was athletics.
Her older sisters were standout volleyball and soccer players. Dimitra excelled at those sports as well as swimming at Corona Del Mar High, so it wasn't a big surprise when she was named "Most Athletic" in her class.
Still, volleyball seemed to be her niche as a young athlete. She had been playing the sport competitively since the fourth grade and earned first-team all-conference honors in high school.
Havriluk also took on a bit more responsibility than a normal prep-school athlete would. After her sisters went away to college, Dimitra helped to take care of her mother, who suffered from a form of kidney disease.
"I had to take care of her when she was sick for a long time and that is something that really changed me as a person and forced me to grow up quickly," she says. "When it was time to move on to college, she knew I wanted to go somewhere far away but still said, ‘Do what you have to do. Don't base your decision on me. I'll be here when you get back'."
After the assurance from her mother, Havriluk signed with West Virginia.
The outside hitter immediately put in as arduous an effort on the court as she did off it, erupting for a stellar sophomore season to earn team Most Outstanding Player honors. An all-round threat, Havriluk was fifth in the conference in digs per game and ninth in kills per game at the same time.
Despite her play, the team's success remained minimal, which put an incredible amount of pressure on Havriluk to lead her squad to a winning record the next season. A sub-par junior year confirmed that she needed to mentally reestablish her game.
"I definitely had a bad year as a junior and most of it was my head getting in the way," she explains. "My expectations were too high and I placed a huge burden on my shoulders."
Psychological troubles similar to hers have hampered most of the Mountaineer efforts so far this season, as the team has dropped four five-game matches and have been unable to close out matches after winning the first game.
"I'd say 90% of the game is mental," she says. "You have to be physically sound but it's all about preparing yourself for the next play."
Closing out her volleyball career on a dismal note is a fate that is ill-deserved for someone with such a bright future, but it doesn't seem to faze her.
The senior, who officially graduates in May, is through with classes in Morgantown in December, and then will embark on a journey she is dying to take. Havriluk will study abroad in Vienna, Austria, and travel around Europe, something she has aspired to do her entire life.
The people she has met at WVU have given her the many tools needed to indulge in such a unique kind of place, according to Havriluk.
"Just being on the team here and traveling to different schools, I've really learned a lot about myself and who I am, and have met some great people on the way," she says.
A self-proclaimed "people-person", Havriluk is intrigued by different people to such a degree that one of her favorite places to be is the airport to survey the diverse environment.
"I love people - they are my hobby," she says. "Talking to people, meeting new people. I just think they are so interesting."
Havriluk cannot wait to travel to places like Germany, Italy, and maybe even Russia to visit the native land of her grandparents. Either way, she can't emphasize enough how estatic she is for the trip, but not particularly to see historic sites or meet challenges that language barriers may cause.
"Just thinking of the amazing people I'll get to meet makes me so excited," says Havriluk.
As some genius muttered once, it takes one to know one.
Brady Smith is a student assistant in the West Virginia University sports communications office.
