Leadership lived: Women’s basketball player serves as a role model

 

Destiny Ramsey of Bloomington, Illinois never dreamed she would be a role model, but as a NCAA Division II basketball player at the University of Illinois Springfield she is for many children in central Illinois.

As a student-athlete, she regularly visits elementary and junior high schools where she speaks about her basketball career and spreads positive messages about not using drugs or alcohol.

“It feels good to know they look up to me and that I’m held to a high standard by these little kids, who are like ‘I want to be you when I grow up.’ I was just like you were,” she said.

A business administration major at UIS, Ramsey is one of the key players on the Prairie Stars women’s basketball team. She’s also academically strong in the classroom.

“It feels good to know that I’m a student-athlete and I’m held to a high standard on both the academic side and on the court,” said Ramsey.

Ramsey started playing basketball when she was in elementary school.

“My dad just asked me to try all of the sports that I could possibly try and whatever I like the most, stick with it,” she said. “I was a gymnast, I was a cheerleader, basketball was the last thing I tried and that’s the one that stuck with me the longest.”

Ramsey said she chose UIS because of the great basketball facilities, coaching staff and the academic opportunities on campus.

“I love the atmosphere here, so it kind of motivated me to want to come here more. The gym is really nice, the people are great. I went from a junior college to here and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made,” she said.

She hasn’t decided what she wants to do following graduation, but she knows that she wants to continue to make a difference in the world.

“One of my goals in life is to change lives and I’ve already tried to do that in every aspect of the word,” she said. “I love interacting with people, so I’m thinking whatever I do, as long as it’s working with people, I’ll be happy doing it.”