Shivain Chopra '16 Recruiting Profile

     I have lived in many countries in my life. I was born in India, and moved to Dubai when I was just 2 months old. I spent 9 years in Dubai. I have always been very involved in athletics. During my time in Dubai, I learned how to swim, and regularly competed in meets. In 2007, at the age of 9, I moved to Geneva, Switzerland. Here, I learned how to ski. Within a year of this, I started competing in alpine ski races, regularly placing well. In 2010, at age 13, I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. This move changed my life, because I gained the opportunity to start playing golf. Although I had always wanted to play golf, I never got the opportunity because, in Switzerland, golf courses were far and few. In the 3 years that I lived in Cincinnati, I only played for 6 months every year, because winter in Cincinnati brings snow. In 2013, I moved out to Los Angeles, California. This move has by far been the most influential factor in my golf game. Moving out here, I have been able to practice all year. Also, when I moved here, I started to get more serious about what level I wanted to take my game to. In July of 2013, I was shooting in the 100’s. Wanting to make the school team, I quickly changed this. I finally broke 100 in November 2013. By March of 2014, I was consistently shooting in the high 80’s. This was good enough to get me on to the Junior Varsity team of my high school. At the end of season in April, I decided that I had to make a big change in my game if I wanted to play at the next level. From April to this September, I have successfully dropped 11 strokes off my handicap, from 18 to a +7. These days, I can consistently shoot around 78. This improvement has also allowed me to make the varsity squad on my golf team at Mira Costa High School. My current goal is to drop my handicap to below +4 by the end of this summer, and I think it is possible if I stay focused.

     One of my biggest strengths is my grades. While playing golf everyday, I am able to maintain an unweighted GPA of 3.6. As a scholar athlete, I give a lot of attention to my grades. I have taken a variety of AP and honors courses. Last year, as a sophomore, I took Honors Chemistry, and AP French, scoring a 5, the highest possible, on the AP French exam. Thisyear, I am enrolled in 2 AP classes, AP Environmental Science, and AP Statistics. As a senior I will be enrolled in AP Calculus BC, and AP Physics.

Along with golf, I am actively involved in multiple clubs at school. I am a member of Math Club, Science Olympiad, and the president of Stock Market Club and Computer Club. I also think it is important to give back to the community. I do this by volunteering during the summer at the junior golf camps at the Lakes at El Segundo.

     Very often, students play sports in high school in order to get into a college of their choice. For me, it’s different. I want to play competitive golf as long as I can, throughout college, and hopefully eventually on a professional level.