Sometimes we are blessed with amazing opportunities in our lives that change us ways that we are never going to be prepared for. When I was a junior in high school I decided that bowling collegiately was a path that I was determined to go down. I had always heard stories from my mother about her adventures and the joys she had bowling collegiately for Wichita State. I remember feeling excited and anxious because I knew that this was something that changed her life. I wanted to share in the experiences that she had, regardless of the fact that they would be a little different considering she got to experience this in 1979 and my chance would begin in 2014 - sorry for showing your age mom. From the time I was a little girl I knew that I wanted to be a Shocker bowler, and now here I am, living my dream everyday.
During my junior year of high school I decided that it was time to take the college searching seriously. WSU was first on my list. After visiting and practicing with the girls who were on the team I knew that this was exactly the place that I needed to be. I got a little taste of the stories my mom told me when I was a little girl and I knew in my heart that this was where I needed to go, this was going to be my new home. I had gone on other college visits, but nothing in the world can compare to the program at WSU. I also mean this previous statement very literally. There is no other collegiate bowling program in history that comes close to competing with the kind of program that has been established in Wichita. With 20 National Championships and a program that was built to train world class athletes, this truly is heaven on earth.
If you were to come down to the Shocker Sports Grill and Lanes at any given point throughout the week you will see PBA champions, Olympic athletes (Coach Lewis is the literal definition of GOAT), and the most recent U.S. Open Champion, Francois Lavoie. Sometimes this environment is intimidating, until you realize that you are among these players, and while you may not have accomplished all that these players have, you are still part of the same family and your time is definitely coming. I 100% attribute my success of making Junior Team USA 2016 to the coaching staff at Wichita State. Coach Vadakin and Coach Lewis have completely changed my life, and for that I am forever grateful.
Above everything else, my teammates have been what has made this ride such a pleasure. There are no words to describe how amazing the girls are that I get to surround myself with everyday. I have bowled with girls from 5 different countries within my 3 years here and it is absolutely one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. I am able to go to a place where I am surrounded by women from different cultural backgrounds each and every day. I have learned what it means to love someone unconditionally not matter how angry they might make me sometimes. I am also fairly certain that after my final year of school I will be fluent in español (see what I did there).
This program at Wichita State has taught me how to be the best version of myself each and every day. I now fully understand the term "blood, sweat, and tears," and I would go through the entire process one hundred times over if it meant that this program were still a part of my life. There is not a single thing about my adventures here that I would change. The ups and downs are all a part of my experiences here and have forever changed the way that I look at myself and my teammates. I have learned to love myself. I have learned to love my own game and I have been able to live out every dream I have ever wished for since I was a little girl.
So to my team, to my coaches, to the program that has forever changed my life, thank you. Thank you for taking a chance on me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to prove myself. Thank you for teaching me how to reach my goals and showing me that I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to. These are the days that I will remember for the rest of my life.
