"My Story Matters"
10/27/2020
As part of the NCAA's Diversity and Inclusion Campaign, each day from Oct. 27-29, 2020 will explore a different theme.
Day 1: “My Story Matters”
Exploring student-athletes' identities, perspectives, and experiences.
Hear from some of Washington's student-athletes as they talk through this topic:
To only know the life of one group [of people] is the equivalent to being held hostage mentally.Elijah Mason
Elijah Mason, Men's Track & Field, Senior: “Experiences that have shaped my life include my living around people who are Native American and people who are Mexican, going to school with white students and Asian students, and then growing up in an all-Black family and attending an all-Black church. Having to understand how to maneuver in all of these spaces alone makes you learn about your surroundings for your own survival; being able to maneuver in different spaces helps make your perspective diverse.”
I didn’t know until maybe a couple of years ago to embrace the color of my skin and that I shouldn’t feel any less than someone else because of it.Ameera Hussen
Ameera Hussen, Women's Soccer, Senior: “My identities (African-American, Christian, Woman) are a huge part of who I am outside of soccer. I didn’t know until maybe a couple of years ago to embrace the color of my skin and that I shouldn’t feel any less than someone else because of it. Also, my belief in Christ guides me as I try to lead with compassion, empathy, and love. It has helped me understand that everyone is different than me but I am to embrace them as well.”
Hussen: “I think diversity is what is needed but I think our goal should be deeper than to just be ‘diverse.’ We should not only be around people who are different from us in the workplace or classroom, we should understand people who are different from us. We don’t have to change ourselves but we should welcome other perspectives and lifestyles. Not just different skin colors but different cultures, religion, etc.”
I had to learn how to be the only person of color in many situations.Ameera Hussen
Hussen: “I’ve grown up in a diverse area but when I played soccer, I was the only person of color. I had to learn how to be the only person of color in many situations. I looked past it until I met my significant other. My eyes have been to see that diversity needs to be addressed in a manner of a necessity not as a choice.”
Olivia Ribera, Women's Track & Field, Senior: “I value diversity, it’s important for all intersections of life. It’s necessary to broaden perspectives and learn from others who identify differently than you.”
Ribera: “I come from a diverse family – I have parents of two different races. I grew up valuing diversity and being comforted by it. My high school experience solidified my value for diversity as I went to a predominantly white high school and had some difficult experiences. Diversity is important!”
Isaac Green, Men's Cross Country, Senior: “Diversity is important to me because without it nothing in the world works. You need all kinds of people to have a functional society. Without diversity there is no progress."
...diversity was something I always craved but also feared.Isaac Green
Green: “Growing up as pretty much the only Black guy, diversity was something I always craved but also feared. I wanted to have people that were like me but I didn't know how to carry myself around them. Exposure to diversity has showed me how to grow and become a more complete person. It challenges me every day and is a constant source of opportunities for personal growth.”
Makayla Kelby, Women's Track & Field, Junior: “Diversity is a word that gets thrown around loosely to protect what happens behind the scenes. For a space to be considered diverse there needs to be equity and equal opportunities presented to all. This is important to me because I’ve been in spaces that were considered diverse although they were far from it.”
Geneva Thompson, Women's Gymnastics, Senior: "I am very deep in my Christian faith, and it is something very important to me. My identities of being a sister, auntie, daughter, granddaughter, etc, mean a lot to me. I have a HUGE family and they are my best friends. I am very close to all of them.”
Thompson: “I identify as being mixed race. Black and White. Being raised by my Black father my whole life I would say that I identify more with my Black side and Black culture. I am very White passing, so I feel like that can get misconstrued sometimes especially when the outside world sees me as White. Finding that balance of where I fit into the world and society can be hard sometimes when you look different than what you identify with.”
Finding that balance of where I fit into the world and society can be hard sometimes when you look different than what you identify with.Geneva Thompson
Thompson: “[Diversity] is so important to me because the world is constantly changing. Who am I or anyone else to tell someone they can’t be who they want to be? Diversity brings so much light and joy into the world and everyone should have the space and comfortability to be themselves at any given moment."
Who am I or anyone else to tell someone they can’t be who they want to be?Geneva Thompson
Thompson: "I have both white family members and Black family members; my best friends are Black, Asian, White, and Pacific Islander. Every culture is so unique in its own way. When you’re constantly around different cultures, you learn why different people may act or react in the ways they do. Not only that, but I grew up in a family where my sisters, aunties, and uncles were a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Even some of my closest friends are gay or bisexual and they are all AMAZING people. Some people in the world may view them differently but really those identities alone don’t define who they are deep down inside. Those identities don’t make them any different than me or the next person. I love them just [the same].”
Being gay is exhausting in the athletic world.Devan Kirk
Devan Kirk, Men's Track & Field, Senior: "Being gay is exhausting in the athletic world. I'm proud of who I am, and although I don't very frequently flaunt my sexuality, I feel like I have to walk on eggshells - even outside of athletics. Black liberation also means liberation for Black gay folks. We are very much part of the Black community and I don't want to ever have to hide any part of myself again, whether that’s being Black or gay."
Black liberation also means liberation for Black gay folks.Devan Kirk
Mireya Grey, Women's Soccer, Senior: “I have gone to both predominantly white schools (PWI) and predominantly POC schools all of my life. I know what it’s like to be a part of the majority, and also a minority. Having had to make a transition into a PWI made me realize that I had to make an effort to find people like me, and before that realization, I was assimilating to the white culture around me. Even just the few Black girls on my team allowed me to have people I could have particular conversations with and feel understood.”
Having had to make a transition into a PWI made me realize that I had to make an effort to find people like me, and before that realization, I was assimilating to the white culture around me.Mireya Grey
Kieanna Stephens, Women's Rowing, Junior: “I am a Black woman that was raised in Vancouver B.C. by my mother and grandparents. I was one of roughly 10 Black people in a high school that had over 2,000 students and staff. Before I transitioned to rowing, I played ice hockey, both very predominantly white sports. After graduating high school I moved to the U.S. where I experienced a culture that greatly differed from Canada, especially being a Black woman. Throughout life, I have had extremely unique and diverse experiences in school, sport, and life, which have significantly shaped who I am today. The journeys that I have been through have allowed me to develop the passion and understanding that I have for humanity and society. It has fueled my love for Sociology.”
These forms of diversity have shaped who I am today.Kieanna Stephens