The moment Ashanti H., a senior at W.T. White High School, stepped onto the training grounds of Borussia Dortmund’s women’s soccer team in Germany, she quickly picked up the club motto, “echte Liebe (“true love” in German).”
To Die Borussen fans, those words capture their passion for their team. For Ashanti, they hold a different meaning. Her love for soccer has been a guiding force throughout her life and shapes her aspirations for the future.
Born in Richardson, she began playing soccer from a young age, inspired by her family’s love for sports.
“I’ve played soccer since I was little,” she said. “My mom put me in basketball, since she used to be a basketball player, and I like basketball also, but soccer was just my love sport.”
Growing up, Ashanti attended several soccer academies and quickly found her place on the pitch as a striker, based on the feeling she would get after scoring a goal.
“I love scoring, it’s the best feeling in the world,” she said. “As a striker, I’m always checking my shoulder, finding the gap, taking the first shot. After one goal, I can’t wait to score again.”
After elementary and middle school in Richardson ISD, Ashanti’s family moved to Pleasant Grove. She spent two years at Skyline High School before transferring to W.T. White. At the beginning, it wasn’t easy to adapt to the school change and the difficulties of being a student-athlete.
Earning the respect of a brand‑new team took time, too.
“At first they treated me like a freshman, but once they saw me in practice and our opener, they were like,’OK, she’s good,’” Ashanti said.
Her drive isn’t just on the soccer field. It’s also in academics.
“I’m an athlete, but being a student comes first,” Ashanti said.
Her commitment to both is recognized by those around her.
“A lot of athletes settle for just passing,” said Jason Riffe, her coach. “Ashanti wants to excel on both fronts, and that internal drive sets her apart.”
Teammates thought so as well, voting her captain this season. She greets every newcomer, enforces standards, and acts as Riffe’s on‑field extension.
“With her out there, it’s like having an extra assistant coach,” he said.
The highlight of her senior year came when Ashanti was scouted by representatives from Borussia Dortmund’s Texas School of Excellence camp. She was one of 18 players from the U.S. and Canada selected for a 10‑day residency in Dortmund, Germany.
After arriving in Dortmund after a long flight from Dallas, the team went straight to training. The demands were steep, with breakfast at dawn, two sessions a day, and scrimmages. Culture shock was steep, too.
“It was tough being seven hours ahead,” Ashanti said. “I could only call home late at night when my family was waking up.”
Yet the challenge proved transformative.
“At first I was tense, questioning if I belonged, but then I told myself, ‘you earned this, show it’ After that, I relaxed, my game flowed, and the whole experience was amazing. I literally traveled overseas for soccer.”
Ashanti’s next step is Prairie View A&M, where she’ll major in biology and play soccer on a Division I scholarship, with the goal of playing professionally after college. The campus felt right: close enough to Dallas and her family, committed to student support, and rich in community.
“Out of the places that I visited, that one was the one that felt most like home to me,” Ashanti said. “I feel I’d have a lot of support, and if soccer ended tomorrow, I’d still succeed because it’s definitely kind of like my culture there.”
Ashanti’s family has been a keystone in her career, but two women, her grandmother and mother, stand out as the support of her relentless effort
“Everything I’m doing—school, soccer, the future—is for them,” Ashanti said.
The legacy she hopes to leave at W.T. White is simple.
That mantra, modeled in classrooms, on practice fields, and across an ocean, will echo through the Longhorn soccer program long after the record book is updated.
