From corporate office to professional courts

Medford native Alyvia Johnson was working her 9-5 job at Federated Insurance when her life took an unexpected turn that allowed her to live out her childhood dream of becoming a professional athlete.

The one-time NAIA volleyball player at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa sent out a last-ditch highlight reel tape from her college career to multiple teams in Europe, hoping for a call back.

“It wasn’t necessarily the plan. It was more of a dream. I wasn’t sure if it was something that could happen for me because coming out of an NAIA program is different from coming from a big NCAA program. One of my friends from William Penn had gone pro in Germany, so I reached out to him asking which steps he took and how he got an agent. He gave me his agent’s number, so I put together my tape, reached out and waited to hear back,” said Johnson.

While initial contact with her new agent was made, the phone didn’t exactly ring with suitors instantly.

“I didn’t know it was going to be a possibility. It was kind of a long process. I just started working straight out of college at Federated Insurance. I was setting up my business life until I heard back that there were teams interested in me and that this was going to be a possibility,” said Johnson.

According to her, three teams reached out with offers, but just making it to Europe was still a tricky process.

“I didn’t have a whole lot of teams – I think two or three initially. One from Greece needed me because they had an injury and needed a player. But at that point I still didn’t even have my passport yet. I was waiting for it to ship to me, so I couldn’t go there… My agent kept looking for teams though and found [Kaposvari NRC] who wanted me and offered me a contract,” said Johnson.

The decision to leave the corporate life to pursue her volleyball career was a no-brainer.

“It was surreal. It was so exciting and so nerve-wracking. I don’t even know if I could put it into words. As a little kid, if you love your sport so much, you dream of that being your job. Being able to play for as long as possible. It was everything I could wish for,” said Johnson.

Signing her name on the dotted line to become a professional athlete changed her life in more ways than one.

Her new club was far away from home – about 4,860 miles via airplane to be exact – and Johnson had never left the U.S.

“This was all completely new because it was my first time leaving the country coming here to play. I was very excited,” she said.

By joining the team, Johnson became the first American on a roster comprised of players from Hungary, Brazil, Ukraine, Serbia, Argentina and France.

However, according to Johnson, the transition to adjusting to life abroad was made easier by the fact that her teammates all spoke English at practices and games.

Her first season saw her usage fluctuate from match to match, but Johnson said she expected that to be the case due to her being a rookie in a new position.

“My whole career I’ve been a sixth-row outside. Coming in here, that’s how I started the season, but throughout the year we had some people leave or get injured, so there was an opportunity to play right side. The back half of the season, that’s where I was working in,” she said.

Kaposvari NRC had a tremendous season during Johnson’s 2025-26 rookie campaign, taking second in the Hungarian Extraliga, third in the CEV Challenge Cup and fourth in the Hungarian Cup.

Along the journey, Johnson was able to travel to multiple different European countries including Czechia, Italy, Norway and Slovenia.

Now, she’ll have the opportunity to keep expanding her horizons as a new chapter awaits for the 2026-27 season.

“For next year I’ve signed a new contract to play for Nawaro Straubing in Germany… They want me to be one of their starting key players back on the outside. It really drew me in because everything I learned here in Hungary really helped me develop as a player. This new team, they’re really excited about me and that made me so excited to join them,” she said.

Thousands of miles, a new home and a career change later, the dream is still alive for Johnson, and she’s never forgotten how much this dream has meant to the same little girl that once tore up the local courts in Medford’s maroon and gold.

“I think she would just be so happy with where we are now. She’d be so proud to see how much we’ve overcome and grown in the sport… Something I would say to everybody is that you don’t always have to be the tallest or go to the biggest school. If you work hard where you’re at, opportunities and goals, they will find you,” said Johnson.