Former Thomas Jefferson volleyball players recap busy summers

By: Ray Fisher
Friday, August 9, 2019 | 8:55 PM

Three senior volleyball players at Thomas Jefferson from last season — defensive specialists Julia Fiedor, Mia Como and Julia Micklo — were lauded in April as Outstanding Young Citizens by Trib Total Media.

Fiedor and Micklo were three-year letter-winners in volleyball. Como earned two varsity letters.

I was able to catch up with them in late-July and obtained updates from all three.

Fiedor will attend Penn in the fall, studying in the college of arts and sciences. She pursued a STEM internship this summer and organized her third annual Mission From TJ volunteer project for the homeless in April.

Fiedor plans to secure a research position at Penn and continue volunteering in Philadelphia through the university’s Civic House.

“This summer, I participated in the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Academy, an eight-week research program through Pitt,” Fiedor said. “I worked in the musculoskeletal oncology lab and researched metastatic breast cancer in bone. On the last day of the program, I presented a poster, abstract and power-point presentation on my project.

“This spring, on April 28, I led my Mission from TJ project. I recruited volunteers from around the community, and we worked to pack over 100 bagged lunches for the homeless. We then partnered with another organization, Mission from Mars, where we delivered the lunches to the homeless at the North Shore. This occurs on a Sunday because many homeless shelters are closed (on Sundays), so people can still receive a meal.

“I was able to organize this project through the help of Pittsburgh Cares Youth Advisory Council, which supports its members and gives them a $500 grant to fulfill their own volunteer projects.”

The 5-foot-3 Fiedor was National Honor Society and class president and landed the Hines Ward “Positive Athlete” award for girls volleyball.

Como, voted TJ’s homecoming queen, will attend Pitt and study in the pharmacy program.

She plans to pursue a doctorate degree in pharmacy, eventually completing a hospital residency and later specializing in pediatrics.

The 5-7 Como was NHS and AP Humanities vice president and served as the majorette captain in the band. She recently returned from a vacation in St. Maartin.

Micklo, who stands 5-1, will attend Villanova and major in psychology.

She was a majorette in high school and participated in the school musical and various clubs. She has been working two part-time jobs this summer and traveled to San Diego for a family vacation.

All three graduated with GPAs in the 4.3 range and helped spark the Jaguars to three consecutive section titles and a WPIAL runner-up finish in 2018.

Tags: Thomas Jefferson