Throughout my life I have prepared myself with everything it takes to face the challenges of combining sport with school. I would set a periodic goal for myself both in my studies and at each track meet and most times - if not every time - I reached or surpassed my goal.
I possess great interpersonal skills, am always eager to try something new and meet new people. I am a God fearing person and my natural ability to lead earned me such a position in my final year in college when I was named the captain of the Miner's women's track and field team.
In my mind, someone possessing a good character should always reflect the ability to lead and at times, even follow. It is important to lead by example but by the same token, it is important to listen and learn from others having more experience. The above qualities play out both in my sporting career and in my daily life.
UTEP's Coach Paul Ereng of Kenya was the coach that first began helping me unleash my full potential. He was the 1988 Olympic champion and NCAA Champion in 800m.
Under his guidance, my final year was fantastic: I broke the Liberian National Record - I became a naturalized citizen of Liberia while in college - and UTEP school record for 800m and went on to earn several awards, namely the Most Valuable Performer (MVP) in both Cross Country and Track; the Cross Country Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll; C-USA Athlete of the Week in both Cross Country and Track; Conference Champion in track; Midwest Region champion in track; and I garnered All-American honors in both Indoor and Outdoor track.
After receiving my diploma from UTEP in the spring of 2007, it was time to make a big decision. I found myself torn because I had come to a point in my life where I either needed to bury my passion and talent as a runner or further my education.
I decided my calling to become the best athlete I could be is what truly consumed me. After all, timing is everything and most opportunities of that magnitude do not come along twice.
Since then, I have had opportunities to represent Liberia in international competition such as the All African Games in Algeria, the World Championships in Japan, the African Championships in Ethiopia and in several European meets.
Based on my previous racing performances at 800m, I now have the opportunity to represent Liberia in the 2008 Olympic Games! With that in mind, I made a bold move to southern California and am currently training with one of the best 800m coaches in the world, Coach Joaquim Cruz.
Coach Cruz was not only the 1984 NCAA 800m Champion but also went on to win the gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympic Games later that summer. In addition to those accolades, he also won the silver medal in the '88 Seoul Olympics 4 years later.
At present, I feel like I am in the perfect environment here in San Diego and believe I can become the women's 2012 Olympic champion in 800m and thereafter plan on continuing my career as a runner, pushing myself to become the best athlete I can be! These goals and the feelings within me to excel are what drive me day in and day out in my training!
Thank you for your interest in my running career. As I have stated above, I believe I have the opportunity of a lifetime and plan on making the most of it - both as a runner and as a person...