Julissa Cabrera (Basketball, Centenary College of Louisiana) grew up in Denham Springs. HelloNation asks student athletes one question about the place that raised them and records the answer on camera. This is Julissa Cabrera’s, in full.
The question
Tell us about a teacher or mentor from high school who challenged you the most or inspired you in a way that still shapes who you are today. Who are they, and what lesson from them do you carry into your life now?
The answer, as recorded
Transcript. What follows is a transcript of the video above, in Julissa Cabrera’s own words. It has not been rewritten, and no part of it was drafted for them.
Hi, I'm Jaleesa Cabrera. I play basketball at Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport, Louisiana, and my hometown is Denham Springs, Louisiana. I would like to shout out my high school basketball coach of the last two years of my high school career, Coach Rudy Smith. This was a man that I felt poured into me and spoke life into me and just saw things in me that I didn't see in myself. My junior and senior year of high school were not the best. There were a lot of things that had just gone on in my personal life, and there were even things that I was struggling with and battling with as a basketball player, just mentally. And I just remember those seasons of my life being filled with hope because I knew that I had hope that I could reach out to or just call on if I needed it. I didn't always call on it or call out or reach out for help or ask for help, but I knew that it was there and it was available because it was made known to me. So, right. Coach Rudy, I just believe, just saw things in me that I didn't see in myself, and I just recall specific moments in which he would just speak things into me that I just didn't recognize for myself because I was just so caught up in my head. I would say the lesson that getting to experience him as a coach has taught me is that you shouldn't be afraid to just reach out for a helping hand because there are people that are out there that are willing to give it to you if you would just ask, if you would just be willing to receive the help. And ultimately, I also think the other thing I learned and recognize is that sometimes you just don't realize you need something until it's kind of put in front of you or until somebody kind of exposes what's needed there, what's necessary there. And so I'm very grateful for my high school experience, my junior and senior year with Coach Rudy and being coached by him. And I definitely believe that those two years of high school basketball were the most that I've ever grown as an athlete and not just skill wise, but just as a person in my character development. So shout out Coach Rudy. He's the man. This is Jalisa Rivera reporting from Denham Springs, Louisiana, on behalf of Hello Nation.
Recorded by HelloNation as part of its athlete voices program and published by Hello Newswire, HelloNation’s good news newswire. The words are the speaker’s own.
Reported by Hello Newswire.