Lights, camera, ACTION !
That well known saying has resonated for decades throughout television and the movie industry.
2015 Cave Spring High School graduate Cassi Parulis has her sights on being part of that action. And, her path to get there is definitely one in which the stars and planets lined up perfectly.
Parulis was a two-sport athlete at Cave Spring. She played girls varsity basketball under Knights’ head coach Jessica Ficarro for three years, being a key player that helped lead Cave Spring to its most successful season in a decade this winter.
But, Parulis’ sport of choice was softball, where she was a member of the 2013 Cave Spring state championship team as an outfielder and a first baseman on the 2014 team that made a strong run in the VHSL playoffs before losing to eventual state champion Brookville. She had begun playing softball in local rec leagues when she was 5-6 years-old, and her energy in the sport has never waivered.
“I’ve always loved softball, ” Parulis said during a recent interview weeks before her graduation. “Softball was my real passion.”
Parulis bode her time as a position player during her sophomore and junior years, being a standout with hitting and defense while current Radford University pitcher Taylor Asimakopoulos had a virtual stronghold in the circle for the Knights.
But, Asimakopoulos’ ascension this year to a Division-I starter at Radford opened the way for Parulis, a tall, left-handed hurler, to make her way into the circle for Cave Spring.
“I’ve always wanted to be the pitcher, but I got used to playing first base or in the outfield because Taylor was a fantastic player,” Parulis noted. “After Taylor graduated it was an easy switch for me to move to the circle. I was able to concentrate on pitching.”
Parulis acknowledges that waiting for that opportunity was a challenge.
“It was pretty hard,” she pointed out. “I was going to camps every weekend, playing on a travel team and trying to squeeze in pitching instruction 2-3 times a week.”
That instruction, coming from nationally recognized pitching coach L.B.Bailey, helped pave the way for what was on the horizon.
“He’s amazing as an instructor,” Parulis said of her pitching mentor.
While pitching softball was important to Parulis, she likewise had been a standout in the classroom at Cave Spring, carrying an impressive 3.7 GPA. Cassi also took a specialty curriculum at Arnold R. Burton Technical Institute, studying film making. Her dream was to pursue a career as a director or producer with her college studies, not the easiest or most available programs to find at most universities.
Then, along came New York University.
NYU, a prestigious college located in the lower Manhattan area of New York City, had decided to expand its Division-I athletic program by adding softball in 2014. The perfect place and situation to combine filmmaking with a talented softball player.
“NYU was the dream school for me,” Parulis said. “They just added the softball team and the opportunities there in film are unbelievable. Plus, I have a lot of family living one hour away in New Jersey. It couldn’t have worked out better.”
The next step was selling the idea of New York City to her parents, Lisa and Al Parulis. After all, Cassi had never even been to New York City, much less been introduced to the challenges the city that never sleeps imposes.
“My mom initially said ‘OK’ and my dad said ‘no way,’ ” Cassi said with a chuckle. “Then, my dad took a recruiting trip with me last summer, saw the advantages and became comfortable with the idea. Everything he saw in NYU solved his concerns.There’s so many things to do, so many people to meet and NYU is top-notch academically.”
NYU was equally impressed with Parulis as a quality student as well as a potential new member of their softball program.
“I was tall and left-handed,” Cassi noted. “The coaches acknowledged those were the two things that attracted the NYU softball program to me. One thing for sure, if it wasn’t for softball, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to attend NYU.”
The perfect match led to the dream scholarship offer.
“After we saw her shills video, we knew Cassi had the different look as a left-hander we were looking for,” Cassie Vondrak, NYU assistant softball coach, and lead recruiter for Parulis, said in a recent phone interview. “It’s very exciting she’s joining our program, and Cassi has a fair chance of being a starter for us right away. We’re looking to have a great rotation in our pitching staff for 2016.”
“She considered a couple other programs, but everything changed when NYU added softball,” Lisa Parulis said of her daughter. “For Cassi, NYU was the Holy Grail of schools. Their coach came and saw her play, and that was it. At that point it was all NYU. She didn’t think twice about it. It was way too big.”
“I’m really happy for Cassi,” Cave Spring head softball coach Nick Sharp said after a recent game. “Cassi has earned everything. She put in a lot of hours and nobody gave it to her. Her hard work made the doors open up. She is such a versatile player and can play a multitude of positions. NYU is looking at her as a pitcher, but she’s also as good a first baseman as you’ll get.”
Cassi hopes to hit the ground running when she makes her way to the Greenwich Village school.
“I’m going to jump right in, I’ll figure everything out,” Parulis says confidently. “My parents trust me and my judgement.”
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for Cassi and her goals in film and our other programs,” Vondrak added. “Being in the heart of Manhattan, NYU has over 22,000 internships available to our students. Our alumni create and provide a lot of opportunities for NYU students to succeed.”
Cassi hopes NYU is just the start of many great things down the road.
“I’d love to attend the American Film Institute in Los Angeles one day, or even staying in New York City would be great.” Cassi says of her future plans. “The internships in television and Broadway will be what I look for by my sophomore year,”
Actress Brooke Shields once said, “The thing about Broadway and New York City is that they always welcome you with open arms.”
Little doubt, Cassi Parulis is ready to embrace the city, NYU and the opportunities that come her way.
Bill Turner
