Growing up in a home where soccer was always present, Gabi Hislop knew from the start soccer would be part of her life. It quickly became her passion and her driving force behind her goals on and off the field.

“I kind of just started playing, probably straight out the womb,” Hislop said. “I just remember I started playing with my brothers, on the school team when I just turned four, and I think just from there, I liked it.”

Hislop, a sophomore from Kerikeri, New Zealand, is nearing the end of her time at TJC as a key member of the women’s soccer team. Playing as a center back, she anchors the defense, preventing opponents from scoring and leading her teammates by example.

Always striving to improve every day, she has found her inspiration in her supportive family.

“They’ve always pushed me along throughout the journey,” Hislop said.

However, her older brother is the one who she will always look up to and be inspired by.

“We were really close growing up – I always viewed him as my role model,” Hislop explained. “He was always pushing me to be better.”

That early love for the game carried her across the world to Tyler. 

This season Hislop has taken a new kind of challenge: Leadership. With a roster full of freshmen, she’s stepped into the role of mentor, teaching them what she learned.

“There’s been a lot more pressure and responsibility on my shoulders,” she said. “I’m trying to teach them things I knew last year that I wish the sophomores had passed on to me.”

However, her journey hasn’t always been easy; she keeps grounded in perseverance. Even when injuries and setbacks tested her, she never lost her love for the sport. Her biggest challenge was dealing with an ACL injury.

“I was out for a year, had a knee surgery, and lots of injuries after that. I feel like it’s been tough, but I’m glad I never lost my love for the game,” Hislop said. “I’ve truly realized through those moments that this is what I wanted to do. So, I’m proud of myself for persevering and getting through those tough moments.”

This recovery journey not only tested her body but her mindset, as well.

“I realized that you can’t take things for granted, and that you need to appreciate all the opportunities you have,” Hislop said. “Every time you step on the field, you should be grateful, there’s other people that don’t have the ability to play like you are. You’

ve just got to make the most of all your opportunities.”

Now as a sophomore majoring in general studies, Hislop has strong faith for her whole team and hopes to win the National Championship this year.

“We definitely have the talent,” Hislop said. “We’ve really got a good shot if we can just continue to build on the momentum we’ve built and just win games.”

Looking ahead and beyond her soccer journey, which has been rewarding so far, Hislop plans to transfer to a four-year school next year.

“The better I play now, the higher I can play moving on,” she said.

Off the field, Hislop keeps herself active and enjoys surrounding herself with more sports in her free time.

“I like to watch basketball, football, anything sports related,” Hislop said. “I love the gym, as well.”

Looking back when her journey began at TJC and as a freshmen, Hislop is proud of her resilience and mindset and aims to prove people wrong and herself right.

“The harder you work, the more trust you’re going to build,” Hislop said. “I’m proud of the way I handled things last year.”

Three words sum up Gabi Hislop: caring, genuine and funny. But more than just words, they reflect a teammate, a leader and a young athlete whose story is still being written.

“I hope to be playing soccer for as long as I can before my body gives out,” Hislop said. “I’d like to get into the sports medicine kind of field, being like a physical therapist or something along those lines.”

Starting from kicking the ball at home with her brothers in New Zealand to a strong, determined center back at TJC, this is just the beginning of Hislop’s journey in soccer, and it’s already full of perseverance, leadership and passion. A reminder that hard work, heart and resilience even if hardships come along, all of that can carry you across oceans and into your dreams.

“I’d say soccer has been the biggest part of shaping my character,” Hislop said. “I feel like it’s built that sense of hard work and discipline that can’t really be taught elsewhere.”