Bittersweet Goodbye: An Interview with Grace Shin — Volunteer Spotlight
Grace Shin/Photo by Alberto Huichapa
For Grace Shin, leaving Kensington Soccer Club and the city of Philadelphia is bittersweet. She’s off to Los Angeles to start a new journey for herself, having been with the Club since 2019 as a volunteer coach, enjoying each moment she had with the kids she worked with, watching them progress in their soccer development and forming new friendships.
“I’ll definitely miss this environment; how casual it is and accepting,” Shin said. “All the kids, you know, they’re sweet. It’s just they had a rougher time growing up which isn’t anything on them. I feel like Kensington gets a bad reputation and you see things like [Kensington Soccer Club], knowing how much time people spend on this and how they work really hard to build it up. It’s a cool thing to see.”
In 2019, Shin knew she wanted to get more involved with her community, especially since she wasn’t doing much and had lots of time to commit to an organization. Though she claims she’s more of a tennis player, she knew that she wanted to look for volunteer coaching opportunities in soccer because it’d be easier to find an organization that’d be willing to give her the chance to coach.
“I honestly didn’t think they would get back to me because usually, you have to kind of have like prerequisites,” she said. “But surprisingly, Pat [Hardy] reached out and she was very responsive and helpful. So, that’s probably one of my favorite aspects of this whole thing, getting to meet new people. Everyone, even the coaches and the high school kids, [has] been very welcoming.”
Shin repeatedly mentions the great respect she has for the work Pat has done for the Club, citing her as one of the reasons she enjoyed her volunteer experience so much.
“Pat has been a good friend and mentor,” she said. “What she does with the community is pretty cool and she just dedicated so much time to these kids. She definitely goes out of her way.”
Reflecting on her own volunteer experience, Shin recommends to people that they should consider joining our club if they’re looking to volunteer in Philadelphia at an organization that’s “community-driven and has a lot of heart.”
“This is probably one of the best places to volunteer,” she said. “There’s so much to learn here and I wouldn’t pick any other place to volunteer.”
Kensington Soccer Club wishes Grace the best of luck moving forward as she embarks on her new journey!
More About Grace Shin
Shin is currently a strategy consultant at Deloitte. Outside of work and volunteering, she also likes to play sports, including football and tennis, though she’s recently been working out instead. She loves visiting her friends in New Jersey and New York, as well taking film photos, watching TV, and scrolling through TikTok.