Rebecca Lobo

When many UConn fans hear about the 1995 National Championship, they think of Rebecca Lobo. Rebecca Lobo is my hero because she is a fantastic basketball player, and I love basketball. She is very hardworking and determined to succeed.

Lobo was born on October 6, 1973 and is the youngest of three children. She grew up in Southwick, MA. When she was growing up, she loved the Celtics, and wanted to be the first girl on the Celtics. Southwick did not have a good girl's travel team so she played for the boy's team; this was very brave. She was the only girl on an all-boys team, and was even a starter. She was an amazing athlete as a child.

My hero has a hero, her parents. When Rebecca wanted to do something with her friends or she was invited to an event and she had basketball, her parents made her go to basketball. It ended up paying off in the long run. Rebecca's influential to me because she shows commitment. If you love a sport, you need to work hard and practice. With her parent's help, Lobo also realized you need good grades to succeed. This is very encouraging to children to get good grades because you cannot go far without them.

Meanwhile, for all Rebecca's hard work, she earned a full scholarship to the University of Connecticut. UConn has a great basketball program and most basketball players would love to go to UConn, because you have a great chance of winning a National Championship.

Rebecca won a National Championship in 1995, and that year the team went undefeated, 35-0! After college she played for the New York Liberty team in the Women's National Basketball Association, or the WNBA. After that, she played for the Connecticut Sun and went on to win an Olympic gold medal. This is very inspiring because it shows she was determined to do well after going to a good college. Now she is a commentator for ESPN college basketball games and the WNBA games. She also is the founder of the Ruth Ann and Rebecca Lobo Scholarship Foundation. It is an organization that offers a scholarship to the UConn School of Allied Health for Hispanic students. Scholarships encourage more diversity in the health care professions and will expand opportunities for young Hispanics and African Americans.

Rebecca is my hero because she is an amazing basketball player, and she is a great role model for all girls who love to play basketball, like me!

Sources:
"Rebecca Lobo." Wikipedia.org. Wikimedia Foundation, INC. 12 October 2009. 7 October 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Lobo http://blogs.courant.com/helen_ubinas/2009/04/renaissance-rebecca-lobo.html