At North Atlanta, playing a varsity sport is no joke. Most people do not look forward to hours of practice and conditioning every week. Playing 2 varsity sports while remaining upbeat is a draining task, but that’s exactly what Julia Promoff did. Julia Promoff is a senior at North Atlanta, and this is her 5th year of playing girl’s lacrosse and 4th year of fencing. Since 2014, the state of Georgia has been a part of the Positive Athlete awards program, recognizing student-athletes and coaches who give back to their community, help those around them, and radiate positivity. The Positive Athlete program focuses on giving recognition to athletes who show strong character, not just for their athletic performance on the field.
After receiving a nomination from her lacrosse coach, Promoff received 2 awards from Positive Athlete. She received the Georgia Army National Guard Community Hero award, a $1000 college scholarship given to one girl and one boy statewide who are making an impact on their community. She also received the Most Positive Girls’ Lacrosse Player in the state of Georgia. Promoff was 1 of 27 student-athletes selected as “Most Positive” in her sport out of over 6,400 nominees across the state. “It was an honor to represent NAHS and meet so many incredible athletes across the state,” said Promoff.
Promoff started Future Warriors as a freshman when she noticed the middle school coaches wanting more coaching assistance and the high school coaches noticing a lack of students continuing their sport or activity in high school that they did in middle school. Today, Future Warriors is a student-led mentorship program where North Atlanta students coach and mentor Sutton Middle School students in sports and extracurricular programs. However, Promoff’s commitment to serving her community expands beyond athletics as she is also the founder of Green Futures, a student-led organization that provides environmental education to classrooms across three state lines. This summer, Promoff served as a Bank of America Student Leader where she interned with The East Lake Foundation. “It’s as simple as this: leave the world better than you found it and don’t forget to smile while you’re at it,” said Promoff.
Reflecting on the experience, Promoff explained how, although it was nice to get an award, there’s so many more people that deserve recognition for being positive and being community leaders. “It was an honor to get recognized, but I want to take this time to thank all of my incredible teammates and coaches who also give back to the community everyday,” said Promoff.
As the new season approaches, Julia is given a chance to reflect on the last 4 years of her lacrosse career. The sport isn’t just about what is seen on the field, but what is seen behind the scenes. Showing good character is more important than anything else, and Julia Promoff certainly shows that.
