No matter what the sport or the athlete the full-time job of being a student athlete isn’t easy. It is safe to say some athletes handle this responsibility better than others and one of the best illustrations of a student-athlete currently at Pepperdine is Miranda Ayim a senior on the women’s basketball team.
As the women kicked off their season Ayim was nominated Nov. 4 as a candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. The acronym stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. It is presented to the outstanding senior NCAA Division 1 Student-Athlete of the Year across nine different sports.
Recipients of the award demonstrate a loyal four-year commitment to their school and are recognized for “great achievement during competition and in their community while staying in school.”
According to her teammates Ayim is a perfect nominee for this award.
“She is probably one of the best candidates for the award because not only is she a great player on the court she is an excellent student as well said senior teammate Taylor Snider. She is in no way one-dimensional and that is what is wonderful about her.”
Ayim is humble about her achievements and sees them simply as an added bonus.
“I’m not actively looking for awards to win but it is always a nice recognition of hard work and effort Ayim said.
More importantly, Ayim views the award not only as individual success, but one for the entire Pepperdine basketball team to be proud of.
The most rewarding thing about this nomination is the recognition it brings to the women’s basketball program here at Pepperdine Ayim said. Our coaching staff and team believes in excelling in all aspects of our lives.”
Ayim does just that.
“She is a great player and person on and off the court Snider said. She always comes in with a good attitude ready to play and give her all for the benefit of the team”
The classroom and the court are obvious places taken into consideration when choosing the award recipient but another important piece is that of community. Not surprisingly Ayim is active in her community involvement.
“Since I’ve been in college most of the community service that I’m involved in is with our team which includes our Time Out for HIV/AIDS tournament that we’ve had in past years Step Forward Day as well as volunteering at various homeless shelters and charity events throughout the year Ayim said.
And although her commitment to the basketball team has helped to define her time at Pepperdine, she has leant her talents to multiple facets of the campus, including serving as co-president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
A large focus of ours this year is community involvement as we raise funds and supplies for Soles for Souls a Webster P.S.-Pepperdine Reading Program and various other community projects she said.
Her time at Pepperdine can’t be defined as stress-free. She named time-management as the biggest obstacle.
When season gets going and the projects start piling up while your team is constantly playing and on the road it can be challenging Ayim said.
But the rewards far outweigh the obstacles.
[The most rewarding part is] the relationships I have with my teammates coaches athletics department as well as supportive faculty staff and students Ayim said.
So with another graduation already upon us, what the talented Ayim is considering many options.
My plans are not certain as far as post-graduation goes but I’m keeping my options open to either continuing to play basketball or continuing with post-graduate schooling she said.”
