Sandia School’s Ramona Delyser is the definition of a student-athlete
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — During her junior year, in the thick of the pandemic, Sandia Preparatory School senior Ramona Delyser ’22 was handily juggling her athletic and academic lives. She and her teammates had to gear up against daunting volleyball rival St. Pius. The Sandia Prep Sundevils went into the match as underdogs, but came out victorious.
“None of us expected to win, so it was even more exciting when we did. Personally, I was glad to have a positive outcome since I was taking the SAT the next morning with another [volleyball game to play] that afternoon.”
And that’s how Ramona rolls—her schedule brimming with an assortment of academic endeavors, sports activities, and extracurricular output. The 2022 National Merit Scholarship Finalist is the definition of a student-athlete, gracefully awaiting acceptance letters from colleges coast-to-coast while fervently competing on-court in between other enriching activities. Prep took the state championship volleyball title that same year they upset St. Pius, which “was especially gratifying since I had rolled my ankle badly in the semifinals two days before the championship. Even though I wasn’t a senior, I felt like I had a leadership role.” This year as a senior, Ramona made First Team All-State for her successes on the volleyball court.
Ramona has played volleyball since middle school in Petaluma, California, where she was born. Her father, Roland Delyser, is a construction administrator who “encouraged me to play volleyball and invested a lot of time into helping me improve. He put up a net in our backyard and helped me with drills after school so that I would get better and earn a spot on the team.” When Ramona and her family moved to Albuquerque halfway through her eighth-grade year, she was only briefly daunted, as Prep proved to be a quick fit. Her peers were friendly, and she joined affinity and service groups like Empower Prep and the Refugee Alliance.
She also enjoys drawing and painting as independent study, a pastime likely inspired by her mother, Nicky Ovitt, a designer and illustrator, and her grandmother, Helen Lucero, the now-retired founding Director of Visual Arts at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. She’s also made time for the National Honor Society leadership team, “which has been a very good way to connect with the Prep community and provide community service opportunities for students.”
As a student, Ramona is enthusiastic about her science classes—Physics 2, Geoscience 2, and Engineering/Mechatronics. In college, she plans to pursue civil engineering and has applied to schools from Northeastern University in Boston to Santa Clara University in Northern California. “I am still awaiting a few decisions,” she notes. “However, of the colleges I have been accepted to, Carnegie Mellon is likely my top choice because of its strong engineering program.” As well-rounded a student as she is, Ramona won’t stay off the courts for long, either. “I definitely plan to join a club volleyball team [as an undergrad]. I’ve enjoyed it so much so far, that it would be great to have a similar experience in college and build new friendships around the sport.” Undoubtedly, Ramona’s uncanny ability to maintain her typically-multifaceted student life thus far will serve her well as an undergrad and beyond.
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