Jenny Kawakami knows how to be a leader.  

She is the unanimously elected captain of DVC’s volleyball team, and the second leading scorer of its basketball team.

Following in the footsteps of her two older brothers, Kawakami has been playing basketball since the age of 4, and started playing volleyball in fifth grade.  

Described as a leader by both her teammates and coaches, the 23-year-old communications major excelled as the point guard for DVC’s women’s basketball team.  

Kawakami was ranked in the top two of the Big 8 Conference in scoring, assists, rebounds and blocks, averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, nearly three steals and one and a half blocks per game.

“She took the role of a captain even though she wasn’t captain,” said basketball teammate Melanie Abuyan. “She is easy to play with and communicates a lot on and off the court.”

At the start of the season head basketball coach Maureen Mattson hoped that the addition of Kawakami would help the team offensively, and was not disappointed. The Vikings made it to the playoffs, finishing third in the conference, after a seventh place finish in the previous season.

“She helped us tremendously,” Mattson said.  “We had a successful season last year, and she had a lot to do with it.”

And as an outside hitter for the volleyball team, Kawakami led her team in kills, hitting percentages, defense, and passing efficiency, helping to advance her team to the second round of the playoffs, after defeating the higher
seeded Gavilan College.

“Jenny is one of those players that coaches wish to have in their programs,” said head volleyball coach Jackie
Ponciano-Babb.  “She is a competitor, a very determined individual, and when it comes to athletics she gives her all to the sport she is playing at the time.”

Her success, both on the basketball and volleyball courts, earned Kawakami a spot on the all-conference teams for both sports this past season.

An aspiring elementary school teacher and basketball coach, Kawakami plans to attend Oregon Tech in the fall on a basketball scholarship.
 

Contact Kamille Simmons-Turnquest at [email protected]