Everyone has a dream as a child. Junior Alejandra Galvis struggled in the beginning but overcame her obstacles and sought out her dream as a tennis player.

Galvis was born in Cucuta, Colombia and started playing tennis at age 7. She also participated in volleyball during high school, but she wasn’t committed to the sport as much as tennis.

“I had to choose between one of them because I was practicing harder, so I didn’t have time for both sports,” Galvis said.

Galvis started playing tournaments when she was 12 years old and was grateful to have the money to participate in these events regularly. Tennis ran in the family, but it seemed like Galvis was more disciplined in practicing and competing.

“My older sister and father taught me the basics of tennis and once I learned it, I loved it,” Galvis said.

Galvis’s story relates to freshman Anna Garcia’s story in the fact that it’s difficult to balance education and a tennis career in Colombia. With that in mind, Galvis knew right away that she wanted to go to college in the United States so she could continue tennis competitively.

Her practice and determination led to tennis scholarship offers from a New York school, Florida International University, West Florida University and Iowa State University. FIU and ISU were the only schools that were Division I, which interested Galvis and her family.

“We looked at her video, we liked her, so I flew down to Colombia to watch her hit and play,” said coach Armando Espinosa. “The day we were finalizing her deal I realized she didn’t have high enough grades to qualify for the NCAA.”

The NCAA requires a specific ACT/SAT score and a 2.0 grade point average. Galvis didn’t reach these requirements and had to put her dream of playing Division I tennis on hold.

“Armando told me that he had a friend that coaches an NAIA school in Kentucky,” Galvis said. “You can go there for three semesters to get the grades you need to qualify for the NCAA.”

Galvis took Espinosa’s advice and went to Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky for two years. She continued to play tennis and after her sophomore year she was able to transfer to Iowa State University.

It was finally a dream come true for Galvis after that long process, but she knows the competition level is higher and the expectations are bigger than at Colombia or Lindsey Wilson College.

“I’m having individuals with Espinosa every week, and it’s been helping because he’s telling me things I didn’t notice before,” Galvis said. “He’s making me into a better player for the regular season.”

Espinosa is looking forward to seeing her play during the regular season, but he wishes Galvis could’ve came to Iowa State her freshman year.

“Her style of game is big and fast, but she needs to improve her level of fitness through strength and conditioning,” Espinosa said. “She also needs to adapt to the competition level in the NCAA rather than NAIA.”

Even though Galvis fought her way through grades, competition and a disciplined lifestyle, she has work to do in preparation for two years against a tough Big 12 conference.

“Now that I’m at Iowa State, it feels like a dream come true,” Galvis said.