LA FERIA — The day La Feria senior Isabel Prado had been waiting for, finally arrived on Friday.
Surrounded by family, friends and an entourage of her golfing teammates, Prado inked a letter of intent to play golf for MarymountCaliforniaUniversity located in Rancho Palos Verdes in the outskirts of Los Angeles.
To those closest to her, Prado’s decision was no surprise whatsoever. In fact, there wasn’t a time she hadn’t been thinking about living in California
“Today means the world to me because I’ve been dreaming of this since I was 5 years old,” said Prado. “I know that’s hard for people to believe, but that’s true. When I was 5, I told my mom ‘when I’m 17, you’re going to have to let me go to California’ and ever since then I’ve had this dream that I’ve been wanting to go to California.
“All these years that I’ve been playing golf, I’ve known where I wanted to go to college. My dad would help me look up schools because California was the set goal that I had. Now, finally, I’m 17 years old and I can’t believe it’s time.”
Prado has been one of La Feria’s most successful golfers, winning district titles during her freshman and junior seasons. She’s also been a regional runner-up two years in a row and this year Prado is looking to break that barrier and make it to state.
“Every year, Isabel has matured and gotten better,” said La Feria head golf coach David Briones. “Her game gets better every year and so does her confidence. Her work ethic gets stronger every year and now that she knows she’s going to go play in college, she’s been out there on the course longer. She’s been a model student for the rest of the team.”
Aside from golf, Prado will dedicate her time to pursuing a degree in business with a minor in music.