Every one of us has a story, a past, or a part of us who shapes who we are today. Not all of us have a more touching story than Brenau’s very own Kayla Mitchell. This freshman, who is a ne addition to Brenau’s award winning basketball team, grew up in Stockbridge, Georgia. As a child, she grew up playing AAU and competitive basketball since she was 9 years old with the support of her family. Family and basketball is a huge part of her life.
Kayla Mitchell. Freshman. Basketball Player.
Even though Kayla kept busy with basketball, she couldn’t help thoughts of why her mother was always sick from running through her mind. “I always knew she was sick but I never knew she was dying,” Kayla tells about her confusion of what happened to her mother eight years ago. Her mother eventually died from breast cancer when she was only 10 years old. Kayla says that she still remembers her mother, but because it was at such a young age her memories aren’t very clear sometimes.
Kayla in her mother’s arms (left) along with her father and older sister
As time passed her father and her grandmother raised Mitchell and her two sisters. Grateful for her father for putting in much time and money in her basketball career, she made it her duty to go to college and earn a scholarship for basketball so her father wouldn’t have to pay for her college. “That’s all I thought about. I just wanted to make him proud of me and get a scholarship for my dad. That’s what motivated me. That’s what kept me going.” Between AAU, High school basketball, and battling two ACL injuries, one happening in middle school (what grade in middle school?) and one as a sophomore in high school, basketball began to get expensive.
The hardest part about earning a scholarship for college basketball was that she wanted to major in nursing. Many collegiate basketball programs do not allow this major because of the significant amount of time student athletes have to put into the nursing program. Her search for a school willing to work with her desire to play basketball and major in nursing seemed endless until Kayla found Brenau. Coach Stewart, Brenau University’s head basketball coach, was willing to work with her schedule for the nursing program and offer her a basketball scholarship. Picking Brenau over Hunting College and Benedict College because of its great pre-nursing program, Brenau was a perfect fit for her on and off the court. Since her mother’s death, Mitchell has always wanted to help sick people and find cures and treatments for others. You could say her mother’s death at a young age caused her to be compassionate towards others.
“After I understood how my mother died, I knew I wanted to find cures to diseases so no one else would have to go throughout losing their mom the way I did,” she said, “Sometimes I looks around and see everyone else with a mother and it makes me sad.” In spite of losing her mother, Kayla’s strong family support system causes her self-motivation, and she does everything with them in mind. AS most celebs have a background that shapes their career, Kayla Mitchell does as well.
Kayla, pictured to the right kissing her father’s cheek along with her younger sister and older sister.
She is well deserving of Campus Celebrity.