
Most days, Grossmont College student Hinsseenee Regassa is a
blur of motion, always in a hurry to get things done.
That drive for speed serves her well on the soccer field as an
elite player with Olympic and professional aspirations. And the same goes with
her academic pursuits.
At 17, she is about to become the youngest graduate in the
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District’s Class of 2016. What’s more, the
Santee resident has accomplished this feat with honors at Grossmont College in
just a little over a year.
Come fall, Regassa will be playing soccer for UC Davis,
where she will be a scholarship transfer as a junior.
Born in San Diego with parents emigrated from Africa, Regassa
said her high school experience was an unhappy one, marred by ugly racial
taunts and bullying.
Always an excellent learner, the constant harassment by
students at her high school affected her deeply and her grades began to slip.
By age 16, she decided she had had enough and took the California High School
Proficiency Exam which she passed to earn the legal equivalent of a high school
diploma.
She took the test in October 2014 and by spring 2015, she
was in classes at Grossmont College. The environment there couldn’t have been
more different, Regassa said, and she blossomed academically, earning mostly
A’s in the seven classes she took her first semester.
“It was amazing – the diversity of people at the campus,”
said Regassa, who as a child attended preschool in the college’s Child
Development Center, where her mother, Fayine Morka, has worked many years as an
aide. “The students are very open and accepting of others. The faculty and
staff are the same way. Grossmont has so many resources for students like me,
looking to learn more and do great things with their lives.”
She gives special credit to counselor Olivia Flores, who
helped map out her education plan and never tried to dissuade her from her
ambitious goal to quickly finish her degree to maximize her eligibility period
as a Division 1 college athlete.
“She wasn’t skeptical at all – she saw that I was determined
and she helped me reach my goals,” Regassa said. “I feel very fortunate and
grateful to Grossmont College for making it possible for me to work toward
achieving my dreams.”
She majored in communications and plans to do so again at UC
Davis, where her soccer coach Twila Kaufman is effusive in her praise for the young
athlete, calling her mind for the game “exceptional.”
“Certainly, greater
things are in store for her,” Kaufman said.
“I have a deep belief in her ability to rise to the next level. This is
why I recruited her. I think the world has yet to see what Hin can do.
Currently she is always on the hustle to get herself in the right venues
to grow.”
During Regassa’s six-year soccer club career as a member of
San Diego United and San Diego Surf, her teams won U.S. Youth Soccer regional
and national titles. Her success at the club level led to selection into the
Olympic development program.
As for her
post-collegiate plans, Regassa dreams of a future in professional soccer, music production, photography,
and filmmaking. She already has one film to her credit, a short
documentary, “Skin,” in which young black girls share stories as victims of
racism. The work was shown in the 2014 San Diego Asian Film Festival.
“I like to be challenged,” she said about her busy life.
Yay!! Congrats Hin! You are going to do great
ReplyDeleteSo proud of you Henny. We all love you so much!
ReplyDelete-Celeen
bless the Regassa family - Ray Palms
ReplyDeleteVery heartfelt story. Congratulations Hin.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful!! Fayine you have done so well in raising such beautiful, successful children!
ReplyDeleteI am so proud of you Hen!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Hinsseenee and wishing continued successes! Strong family values + early childhood education experiences + committed counselor + self confidence = supporting you along the way!
ReplyDeleteFreaking Hen, love this girl. Hated not seeing you anymore at school, but so proud of where life is taking you. So proud of you.
ReplyDelete