Holding Court
Biology major, artist, and volleyball star? It’s all in a day’s work for Isabella Choice
At 10 years old, Isabella Choice took up volleyball for fun in her hometown of Tallahassee, Fla. Now, the 6'2" senior, who plays the middle and outside hitter positions for the Rutgers–Camden Scarlet Raptors, is considered one of the top players in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC).
As a junior, Choice led her team with 279 kills (unreturnable offensive plays) and 74 blocks; she finished second with 42 service aces. That same year, Choice earned NJAC Second Team honors. In the classroom, the biology major and Honors College student is on a pre-med track and regularly graces the dean’s list.
Choice started to play volleyball in fifth grade, both in school and on club teams. There, a volleyball touring agency scouted her for international play. At 15, she was selected to represent the United States at a competition in Europe, where her team finished ranked fifth in the world.
When it came time to look at universities, Choice and her family searched all over the Southeast for a school that offered competitive volleyball as well as biology courses to support her pre-med aspirations. When she expanded her search to the Northeast, she discovered Rutgers University in Camden’s academics—and a warm welcome from the Scarlet Raptor volleyball program.
“I walked into the locker room, and the entire team was there to greet me,” Choice said. “Coach [David] Gurst had a Rutgers-Camden jersey with my number and name over the locker. I knew that I had found my college.”
“I love that women who play volleyball are tall and powerful and pull together,” said Choice, who stands 6'2" tall.
This past summer, the same agency that recruited Choice to play abroad in high school chose her and her Rutgers–Camden teammate Dyamond Free to compete in a European tour. The team was stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, then visited several countries before heading to Croatia for a four-day tournament.
Choice checked off those signature European experiences on the trip: reaching the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, seeing the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, and taking a gondola ride in Venice (on her birthday). She loved handling the currency and learning to say “thank you” and “hello” in the native languages of the places she visited.
One evening, Choice’s team shared a family-style meal with counterparts from Bosnia. “It was not like in America, where each person orders a separate entrée,” Choice said. “In Bosnia, eating together means something different. I loved that welcoming feeling.” During the meal, they learned about the Bosnian War and its profound impact. “There are still bullet holes in many buildings where people live,” she said.
Choice also strengthened her game on the trip. Under European volleyball rules, players in middle hitter positions must serve the ball, and Choice welcomed the challenge. “I loved serving the ball to a win,” she said. “I loved expanding my game by developing defensive strategies agains various styles of play.”
Back at Rutgers–Camden, Choice crafted her fall schedule to prioritize her responsibilities for school first.
“Academics have always been a condition for playing volleyball ever since I started in middle school,” Choice said. She has consistently taken summer courses to keep her academic workload more manageable during volleyball season.
Choice also carved out space for her art minor, which stems from a longstanding love of painting and photography. Courses like Intro to Art History I and Philosophy and the Arts helped to develop her passions. She has also won several art contests, but for the moment, she prefers to save her competitive fire for the volleyball court.
“I am painting to relax,” Choice said. “I have a wall of paintings in my apartment that I love to share with my teammates.”
She credited her family for providing a solid support system at home, despite the distance. “My father played basketball in college and then professionally for 10 years abroad,” Choice said. “And my mom is a lawyer. I have watched them both work hard. My parents have instilled a strong work ethic in me.”
With the arrival of her senior year and her last season of college volleyball, Choice wants to soak up every moment before graduation and medical school.
“I also want to win as many games as we can this year,” Choice said.
Isabella Choice. Photo Credit: Nikkita Hovell
Isabella Choice. Photo Credit: Nikkita Hovell
“I also want to win as many games as we can this year.”
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