Sarah Kwasigroch was the starting setter for the women’s varsity volleyball team for all four years of her
high school career. She led her team to a 2 nd place state finish her freshman year and a 5 th place state
finish her senior year. Her team won conference three out of four years and were ranked as high as 2 nd
in the country her sophomore year.
Sarah still holds the two major Illinois state volleyball records for setters: assists in a single volleyball
season as well as total career assists. She was a four year all-conference selection as well as a member
of the regional all-area teams for the Star and Southtown papers each year. She was named to the 1 st
Team All state volleyball team her sophomore, junior, and season years. Sarah was named Illinois state
volleyball player of the year in 2004, her senior year.
At Sandburg, Sarah also excelled at academics finishing her academic career in the top ten in GPA
ranking and graduating with over 30 hours of AP credit. She was the treasurer of the National Honors
Society and was an active member of Varsity club all four years. Sarah was a member of Mu Alpha Theta
and was recognized as an Illinois State Scholar in 2005. Sarah also coached a junior club volleyball team
in the area her junior and senior years while her own club volleyball team was nationally ranked each
year.
After graduation, Sarah continued her volleyball career at the University of New Mexico where she was
a four year varsity athlete. She was a four year starter and helped rebuild the UNM women’s volleyball
program. She was a four year All-academic conference recipient and a three year team captain. She won
the Leslie Self Inspirational award her senior year and was named Lobo Club student athlete of the year
in 2009.
While being a student athlete an UNM, Sarah accomplished what she had set out to do, graduate with
her Doctorate of pharmacy. During her junior and senior volleyball seasons, Sarah successfully finished
her first two years of pharmacy school. She then became the graduate assistant for the volleyball team
her fifth year and graduated in 2011 with her doctorate in pharmacy and master’s in business
administration becoming one of the first student athletes to accomplish this.
Sarah moved to Chicago following graduation to complete a community pharmacy residency with
Walgreens and the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has been a specialty clinic pharmacy manager for
Walgreens since 2013 and still lives in the city with her husband and baby daughter. She continues to
coach junior volleyball along with her husband when possible. She would like to thank the Sandburg
community, coaches, and teachers for helping her achieve both her athletic and professional goals.