Whitney Jenay Dosty

Started: She began playing volleyball at high school. She switched to sitting volleyball in 2014 after sustaining her ankle injury. (wavelengthwoman.com, 17 Mar 2021; yearofours.com, 24 Sep 2020; charli-cohen.com, 10 Apr 2017) Reason: "Growing up I was always involved in sports, but really connected with ballet. I was a ballet dancer for 13 years before getting into volleyball. Going into my junior year of high school, I decided to try out for the volleyball team. I had played a little when I was younger and already had the height, and wanted to do something team related. That was when I first started to take volleyball seriously." (yearofours.com, 24 Sep 2020) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (brainzmagazine.com, 06 Jun 2023) Awards: In 2022 she was inducted into the Ring of Honor for volleyball by the University of Arizona in the United States of America. (azdesertswarm.com, 02 Nov 2022) In 2017 she was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Pima County, AZ, United States of America. (usavolleyball.org, 11 Nov 2022) She was named the 2005 Southern Arizona Player of the Year by both the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson Citizen newspapers. (teamusa.org, 01 Jan 2016) Additional Info: BUSINESS OWNER She is the founder and owner of 'Wavelength Swimwear', a swimming apparel company that sells swimwear for tall women. "Art and creating have always been a part of who I am. I started studying and working in fashion shortly after my ankle injury in 2014. With the ups and downs of my ankle injury I have been blessed with many new doors opening in the fashion world. I attended the School of Style in New York City [NY, United States of America] and graduated from the programme in 2014. Soon after I began working on projects as a style intern to [fashion designers] Kate Mossman and April Hughes." (Instagram profile, 26 Sep 2023; Vimeo profile, 01 Jan 2019; onwyattstyle.com, 05 Dec 2018) FURTHER STUDIES In 2020 she was one of 10 Team USA athletes to earn a learning scholarship through the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee's Athlete Career and Education [ACE] programme. She took a course in digital marketing. "I love learning, so the idea of learning new skills really excites me to be back in school. We live in such a digital age right now, and I am eager to learn as much as I can in as many different arenas as possible with skills that will lend support to me being a first-time business owner. Digital marketing appealed to me as a valuable skill to have." (teamusa.org, 28 Aug 2020) DANCER She was a ballerina for 13 years when she was younger. She studied at the American Ballet Theatre and the Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York, NY, United States of America. "I love dance. I think that's the first thing I really got involved in as a young child as far as athletics in any way, and I did it for so long. There's certain things about dance and I think the way you behave and what we put up with as far as being a student. You couldn't be late to class. You didn't show up not ready to go. So I think as far as discipline in that respect, dance really helped me become more of an on-time player and wanting to be a leader. I think what I took from physically it was a lot of balance. My range of motion and just body awareness, it helped me a lot. I was a very new player to volleyball when I started, so I think just having the body mechanics and then I just had to learn how to play, like actual skills." (usavolleyball.org, 11 Nov 2022; azdesertswarm.com, 02 Nov 2022; charli-cohen.com, 01 Jan 2018)

Sporting Relatives: Her sister Sybil played basketball for Arizona State University in the United States of America. Her father Robbie played basketball for the University of Arizona. (usavolleyball.org, 11 Nov 2022)