Natalie Pederson is our featured athlete this month. She is a 19-year-old sophomore attending the Cartersville campus.

Originally from Sylmar, Calif., Pederson has traveled thousands of miles on a softball scholarship to attend Georgia Highlands.

She said, “Coming to GHC allowed me to have more opportunities to transfer to a better university with better scholarship offers than I would’ve had going straight from high school to a university.”

Along with a rigorous training and school schedule, Natalie also works for GHC’s Student Life. Natalie is majoring in psychology and “plans to continue this degree through graduate school.”

Though unsure of her exact “dream job,” she knows that anything in the psychology field will be a good match.

Natalie has been playing softball since she was three years old.

“I started serious softball around 13 or 14 years old and plan to play through college,” she said.

Sixteen years of softball, and counting, is indeed dedication to the sport in addition to the impact it has made on her life.

Softball has enabled Natalie to travel across the country for school. This is an opportunity that many athletes and students desire.

In Natalie’s opinion, the upcoming softball season looks very promising. She said, “We have a very well-rounded team with great freshmen who have come into the program along with experienced sophomores.” Natalie’s goal for the season is to be competitive “against every team that they play this season.”