CALABASAS, Calif. — A high school senior in Calabasas is quick on the pitcher’s mound and quick with the one-liners.

Jillian Messinger is one of March 2022’s Spectrum News 1 Scholar Athlete Program scholarship recipients. She is a student at Calabasas High School.

Messinger has been on her high school’s varsity softball team for three years. The high school senior has played softball since she was 7.

As she tied up her cleats before a recent practice, she commented on how she loves playing with her friends and winning with them too.

But mostly, “I just love the whole team aspect,” she said.

Messinger is the pitcher on her high school team and sometimes plays third base. She also plays with a club team called California Waves. And when she heads off to Kenyon College in Ohio in the fall, Messinger will continue to play the sport she loves.

“I got recruited to play softball there,” she said.

While the sport is a big part of her life, comedy is another.

“I want to intern at Saturday Night Live,” she said. “That’s my secret goal.”

Messinger does improv and impressions, including one of Jennifer Coolidge. Messinger did a dead-on impression of the actor best known for her role in “American Pie” as Jeanine Stiffler.

Messinger manages the school’s comedy sports club too, which she said is similar to competitive improv.

“I always just like, love to make people laugh. That’s like my big thing,” she said.

It’s something Messinger said she inherited from her grandfather and also from her mother, who died when she was 10.

As Messinger worked on some homework from the school’s library, she talked about when her mother died of breast cancer.

“Like, it was traumatic experience, of course,” she said.

But Messinger added that if she dwelled in her mother’s death, her mom would say, “What are you doing? Don’t use my death as an excuse. Do something with yourself.”

Messinger takes that to heart and really has made something of herself in her 18 years. In addition to being a top athlete, she maintains a 4.3 GPA and has earned several academic accolades, including an AP Scholar Award among others. She is also part of the California Scholarship Federation.

“I would say, education is definitely even more important than softball,” she said.

Ed Edsall was Messinger’s Advanced Placement European History teacher when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit.

“She was one of the students that I gained respect for during the pandemic because she used it as an opportunity to improve in school,” he said. “And it’s a real testament to her work ethic.”

Edsall added Messinger works hard but also makes class fun, saying that she’s “always joking around.”

Laughter is one way Messinger helps fulfill her passion to help people. She also writes letters to kids with cancer as a part of the Care 4 Cancer organization. She’s also a part of Camp Ubuntu, which takes underprivileged kids on camping trips.

Messinger is busy all the time, but that’s what she prefers and it might just be in her genes.

“Yes, I get it from my father,” she said with a contagious laugh, adding that laughter is the best medicine.

For those reasons and more, Messinger was selected as A Spectrum News 1 Scholar Athlete. She will receive a $1,000 scholarship for use toward college expenses.

Nominees must adhere to the following criteria to be considered:

• High school seniors
• Attend a high school in Southern California / where Spectrum News 1 is available
• On at least one varsity team in their senior year
• Have an excellent academic record
• Involved in extra-curricular activities and/or be active in their local community either through their school or volunteering on their own time
• Have plans to attend a university in 2021-22

Nominators must be 18 or older and cannot be the parent/guardian of the student. Each nominator may only nominate one individual.

You can nominate a Scholar Athlete here.