In 2018, the NCAA transfer portal was launched into action, managing the student athletes who seeked to transfer from one university to another. Since then, thousands of student athletes have been able to find their true home while playing the sport they love.
While there is no official transfer portal for high school athletics, PLHS’s open enrollment allows high school student-athletes to find their best fit in Monarch Nation.
Two new PLHS students and starting varsity softball players, sophomore third baseman Elli Ridgley and sophomore catcher Toria Rother, are among the group of students who came to PLHS to find that new home.
“I decided to transfer to Papio for the smaller community, some of my friends that already went there, and the opportunity to play softball,” Ridgley said.
After transferring from Millard North, Ridgley is elated about the new relationships she’s already built in both the school and softball environments.
“My favorite thing [at PLHS] so far is probably all the new people I’ve gotten the opportunity to meet and the opportunity to play softball at a new school,” Ridgley said.
Transferring schools also comes with struggles that are in need of getting a little more used to, even if it’s just the basics of finding your way around the school.
“Everything is so new since I also transferred districts,” Ridgely said. “So new people, new computer, new everything.”
Other challenges can sprout from more difficult adjustments, especially when leaving behind relationships that have been years in the making.
“Something I miss most [about Millard North] is probably just a lot of my old friends,” Ridgley said. “It’s weird not seeing them around every day.”
Unlike Ridgley, Rother was a little more aware of what to expect at PLHS since she came from Papillion La Vista South High School, Monarch Nation’s cross-town rival.
“I wanted to transfer because of the winning culture of the school,” Rother said.
Though she too misses her friends from her past high school, Rother is finding just what she wants at PLHS.
“My favorite thing about Papio is the people because they are super nice, and the coaches are really good,” Rother said.
While still being an underclassman, Rother has set goals for herself to make her mark, both in the school community and on the field, in her remaining three years at PLHS.
“I’m most excited to become friends with new people and make an impact on the school,” Rother said.
Without a doubt, Rother has already started to leave her mark on Monarch Softball, ending the 2024 season with a .431 batting average and tying the school record for hits in a game, with four hits during the team’s game against Gretna East on Sept. 7.
High school can be a scary yet rewarding experience, where so much growth is obtained in such a short four years. With that being said, it’s crucial to be in a place where you find yourself most confident and content. It is true that “there’s no place like Nebraska,” and even more, there is no place like Monarch Nation.
