Hello, my name is Rebecca Lelko, and I was part of Vivacity while I was in middle school and high school. I just want to share a few ways that chess has helped me. First of all, I got a scholarship to Texas Tech University for chess. This obviously has greatly helped both me and my parents, as college is extremely expenssive. There are many colleges that offer scholarships for chess, so I encourage you all to look into this opportunity.
Also, starting college is very intimidating. You do not know many people there, and everything seems completely new. Being part of the chess team helped me make friends immediately and also let me get to know some older students who could help me if I had any questions. When you go to college, the most important thing is to get involved, and joining the chess club/team is a great way to do this.
I have had a lot of fun continuing to play chess in college. Our team travels together to a lot of tournaments, and we even took one trip to play blitz at the bottom of a cave! I hope that reading about my experience will help motivate you all to continue playing chess after you graduate.
