When one thinks of Autumn, perhaps the image of spiced cider comes to mind – the actual color of senior, Autumn Fatovich’s long hair.   Or maybe Autumn makes you think of cool gentle breezes – which is kind of what it’s like when Autumn walks into a room – a break from the heat.  One thing is for sure, Autumn Fatovich has a happy, easy-going aura about her, but don’t be fooled.   While she is a fun, kind, and successful senior at Sahuaro, she’s a juggernaut on the volleyball court, where she shows her fierce spirit of serving and spiking. She has been playing since seventh grade, hustling, hitting, and never quitting on the volleyball field. Recently, Autumn was overjoyed to find out she received a full ride scholarship to NAU (Northern Arizona University).

Although it may seem like Autumn has been striving for success all her life, it was not always like that. When she was in eighth grade, tragedy struck.  She was pulled out of class one day and told that her mother had just passed away. “I couldn’t believe it. It was unexpected,” says Autumn. “People don’t understand until it happens to them.” People, including her close friends, did not know how to respond and eventually stopped being her friend. Autumn did have two friends, Chloe Ash (who goes to Sabino) and Isabella Bojorquez (who goes to Compass) who stuck by her closely through the loss of her mom and through high school.

What inspired her to keep going was that she didn’t want to ruin her life with something that happens to everyone. “I wanted to become something more and be something more,” reported Autumn. Her dad and family encouraged her to work hard and keep going. What inspired her to be successful was herself. She is competitive and always tries to get higher scores than her peers. One of the hardest parts of losing her mom was not seeing her at volleyball games, but since their loss, she has grown closer to her dad.  Like every teenage girl, she still longed for a mother figure to help with “girl” problems that fathers can’t help with. She feels fortunate to have two older sisters and her grandma. She also has her friends’ moms who treat her like their own daughter. “They will always be by my side.”  When Autumn misses her mom, it helps to listen to her mom’s old voice mails and her mom’s music.

NAU was Autumn’s first choice for college. She is going to major in Environmental Biology and see where life takes her. Her name is indeed that season between summer and winter, so it seems befitting that she loves the environment. Since she got a full academic ride to NAU, Autumn has decided to live life to the fullest. Last summer she toured Ireland, France, and England with her fellow drama students.  This next summer, she has decided to use the money she saved for college and splurge on another trip – this one to Italy and Greece with two of her favorite teachers – Mr. Chandler and Ms. Lange.  She’s even chipping in for her dad to go so the two can have a special trip together before she leaves for Flagstaff.  Autumn’s advice to anyone who has lost someone close to them is “No matter how much you miss them, they are still there.”