For Jasmine Thimothe, the captain of the BC Bridges volleyball team for a second consecutive year, life is all about overcoming personal disadvantages while helping others to overcome theirs. 
      A political science major interested in urban policy, Jasmine found her passion for volleyball at Tilden High School. “I discovered that volleyball helped me stay focused, and I love being part of a team,” says the Bridges’ outside hitter. But she also realized she wasn’t exactly skilled enough to make the significant contribution she burned to make to her high school team on the court.
      Instead of accepting her limitations, she decided to push herself and that Christmas she bought a ball to practice at home. By the following season Jasmine became her team’s captain, and led them to the championship.
      Born in Brooklyn to Haitian parents, Jasmine also felt the urge to get involved in community organizing and in 2005 she joined the AmeriCorps, the federal program that provides financial assistance to college students who volunteer in communities with critical needs. When not scoring points on the hardwood, she found time to become a mentor at two junior high schools in East New York.
      “I know how important it is to have a mentor,” she says. “And I wanted to help kids who need guidance, even with the most basic things, such as personal hygiene.”
      When she returned to college in 2006, Jasmine went back to the volleyball team where she started as the libero, a player who is required to stay in the back row and cannot serve, block, or complete an attack if the ball is over the net. Again, she longed to have a more crucial role in the team and put her mind to become an outside hitter.