Senior Spotlight: Makayla Brown-Paul, Penn State Lehigh Valley
Welcome to our Senior Spotlight series. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the PSUAC had to cancel its fall and winter sport seasons. This prevented several student-athletes from receiving a proper senior day and minimized opportunities for Player of the Week awards. In its place, we will highlight seniors from around the conference throughout the remainder of the semester.
See more Senior Spotlight highlights on our Twitter (@psuac) and Instagram (psuac)!
Name: Makayla Brown-Paul
Campus: Lehigh Valley
Primary Sport: Women's Basketball
Primary Position(s): Shooting guard
Hometown: Oxon Hill, MD
High School: Oxon Hill High School
Academic Achievements: PSUAC Academic All-Conference Award (2018-2019); Dean's List every year
Athletic Achievements: John Fritz Sportsmanship Award (2017-2018, 2018-2019)
How did your Penn State education prepare you for life after graduation? My Penn State education prepared me for life after graduation by making my experience more realistic and guided me on the right path to be prepared for the real world.
How do you hope to be remembered by teammates and coaches? I hope to be remembered by my teammates and coaches as a positive, determined, hard-working, supporting, encouraging, motivating person and teammate that always has a smile on their face.
What is your favorite memory from playing your sport at Penn State? My favorite memory from playing my sport at Penn State was winning a championship and moving on to be a part of USCAA Nationals.
What is the best advice you ever received from a coach or teammate that you would share with other student-athletes? The best advice I have ever received from a coach or teammate that I would share with another student-athlete would be to play with your heart, not your head. Things may not always go your way and adversity will hit but when it does rise above it by going as hard as you can for the love of the sport, not the difficulties in your head.
What are you most looking forward to post graduation? Or in your transition to University Park (or other campus) to finish your degree? I look forward to using the skills I've learned throughout these years to help others in achieving their goals and being successful. I want to work with atrisk adolescents who are athletes because I can relate to some struggles at home and through my sports career; I would use my knowledge on my past experiences to help motivate the younger athletes and encourage them to keep pushing because there is a light at the end of the tunnel but you have to be willing to go through the struggle of getting there.
What are some of the tools or skills that you learned through all the years of playing your sport that you plan to instill once you enter the workforce? Some tools or skills that I learned through all the years of playing my sport that I plan to instill once I enter the workforce is to never give up and work hard no matter what. Things may not always go your way and it may not seem "fair" but be patient, work hard, and never stop being the person you are because your time will come eventually.
What impact did athletics have on your experience as a college student? What is your favorite memory outside of athletics during your time as a student-athlete? Athletics had a huge impact on my experience as a college student in all positive ways. I met some amazing lifelong friends, I experienced the good and bad of a college athlete, it taught me how to prioritize my time, to be more organized, and to stay on top of everything. My favorite memory outside of athletics during my time as a student-athlete was helping others succeed along with me. I developed a program to help all PSULV athletes, focusing on freshmen, by guiding them on the right path to be successful academically. I've also had fun exploring a new environment; being from Maryland, I've never been to places in the Northern area such as New York or Philly but thankfully I was able to experience both of those places with friends and teammates.
Please use this space to thank anyone you wish to acknowledge for their support during your academic and athletic career. My academic and athletic career has been an amazing journey. I've grown, matured, and stepped out of my comfort zone to become the amazing person I am today. Through my journey, I met some amazing professionals that I aspired to be like as I got older. I would love to thank Lehigh Cundari, Teri Kistler, Vern Mobley, Lorie Khalil, Tammy Yocum Cwienkala, Thomas Dubreuil, Patrick Cassidy, Pam Fleck, Maryann Rush Wallace, and Dr. Tina Richardson for being positive role models, inspiration, shoulder to cry on, assistance with anything, motivation, constructive criticism, encouragement, support, courage, and genuine love. I would especially love to thank all of these amazing people for seeing things in me that I did not see in myself but being able to see those things and helped guide me in the direction to achieve and become that person.