I grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Canada and the United States are similar. It is a beautiful place that I am grateful for and take pride in coming from. I lived there with my family — my little brother, and my parents. My father is an Afghanistan refugee who fled in 1989. We are not the biggest family, but we are all tight-knit.  

Growing up, I trained in mixed martial arts (MMA) and swam competitively. These sports were focused on individual training and performance. I spent most of the time training physically and mentally on my own. As a result, I learned how to spend a lot of time by myself and developed my skills rapidly. However, I soon realized that I wanted to explore a sport with a team dynamic — getting to know and studying the game from other people. I decided to try basketball and quickly fell in love with it. Height runs in my family, so I was born long and almost 10 pounds. It doesn’t hurt that I have always been tall, growing steadily over the years. In eighth grade, I hit 6’3” and began to play the sport competitively, ending my participation in other sports so I could focus on basketball. I enjoyed my first competitive year and saw my skills improve significantly.  

We spent most of my childhood in Vancouver. I continued to play and improve my talents throughout high school. In my junior year, I decided I wanted to continue my basketball journey and play at the next level — NCAA Division-I basketball. During my senior year, I transferred to the States, to the New Hampshire area, where I could play at a competitive, nationally recognized high school. My little brother is also a huge basketball fan, which is nice because when your people know the sport you play, you do not have to explain the game to them — they already know. 

Out of high school, I was recruited to play at Mercer University in Georgia, where I had a good freshman year, but the coach was dismissed following my first season. I decided to explore my options and placed my name in the transfer portal. I saw that Utah Valley University (UVU) was interested in me. My interest in UVU grew when I learned that two-time NBA champion Mark Madsen had joined the program as head coach. I’d never heard of UVU as being a basketball school, but after meeting Coach Madsen, I knew he could provide the support and platform for me to achieve my aspirations to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). I knew that with Coach Madsen and a growing program, we could make history-breaking accomplishments at UVU.  

Due to transfer rules, I was redshirting my first year, which means my participation on the team was delayed in order to lengthen my period of eligibility to play college basketball. It not only helped me prepare for the next season, but also helped me settle in to living in Utah. Utah is different than anywhere else I lived, such as the culture and people. Being exposed to the new culture made me realize one comforting fact: UVU is a place for everybody. It did not matter where I came from, who I was, or what I believed. I saw that everybody respected and loved everyone. Walking down the hallways at UVU, I saw and still see all diverse types of people, which made transitioning to Utah easier. I also found comfort in seeing signage for different organizations, groups, and activities, such as Latino Night or UVU’s African Diaspora Initiative. While Utah is known for being predominantly white, I found a diverse, welcoming home at UVU.

Settling in my first year made the transition easier, but on the court, my redshirt year was my toughest mentally. I was trying to stay locked in on my goals of playing the next year but struggled balancing multiple workouts and school. It was difficult putting in the work, but not being able to partake in my favorite and the most rewarding part of the game — gameday. The discipline foundation I built early — starting with my training in MMA and swimming — helped me get through the days where I did not want to work out or attend classes. My discipline is focused on the daily grind as opposed to the end goal. This discipline helped me on the court and in the classroom.

I was not the best student my first year in Georgia, as my priorities were different. However, at UVU, I shifted my priorities and wanted to be not only the best player on the court, but also the best student. I prioritized attending classes, getting homework done before practices, and working with the amazing tutors and staff in the athletics department. Before UVU, the library was foreign to me, but now you can find me there two to three times a week utilizing the many resources available. All these efforts resulted in me doing significantly better in school, clearing my head, and allowing me to focus and play basketball better.  

My first year on the court, after putting in a year of hard work, I was frustrated at first that neither my team or myself were ranked high for the pre-season predictions. But I realized that those things are not as important as what you do on the court. The only perspective that matters is your own and your team’s. I didn’t let other people’s perception of me impact my playing or my schoolwork. We are the ones who decide what we want to do — no one else. We did allow those predictions to fuel our underdog mentalities to go out there and put in the work. UVU and our program have the same underdog mentality that I do, and I love that because it makes life fun. Sometimes no expectations are good expectations. Not only did we win last year, but I also was able to accomplish some awesome records. We were able to prove a lot of people wrong, and that is empowering.  

One exciting moment for me and for UVU was on December 1, 2021, when we played the Brigham Young University (BYU) basketball team. As the underdogs, I’m sure many people expected that we wouldn’t win. But we ended up beating BYU 72-65 in overtime while a crowd of 7,500 supporters cheered us on at the UCCU Center. The energy in the room that night was electric and unforgettable.  

I want to take basketball as far as I can take it. After I graduate in the spring with my degree, I plan to enter the NBA draft. We will see what happens there. Until that day comes, my team and I are going to go out there and do our best. We have some great fans and one of the biggest supporters ever, President Tuminez. To see her on the sidelines cheering us on only brings us good luck. We also have an amazing squad this year, and I am excited to see where we go.