University of St. Thomas Athletics
Kaia Porter watched the 2019-20 season on crutches but she still contributed leadership and spirit to a young team.
Photo by: University of St. Thomas
Women's Hoops' Kaia Porter pens team-first "MIAC Journal" essay
10/28/2020 12:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Kaia Porter had a breakout sophomore women's basketball season. She helped the Tommies women to a Final Four trip and a 30-2 final record, including a 20-0 run against conference opponents. An off-season knee injury kept her on the sidelines for virtually all of last season, but she's back for 2020-21.
The unselfish Porter wrote this essay for a new feature on the conference website titled "MIAC Journal."
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Every year our basketball team has a motto, a phrase that we commit to and rally around. We try to make it unique to the current season—and this year's season is like nothing we've ever experienced.
The same can be said about the current state of the world: Everything seems so significant—so daunting, unpredictable, and with so many layers—that it's hard to capture the weight in words.
At a national and global level, we are living in the midst of two pandemics. One, COVID-19, came about quickly, disrupting our normal routines and forcing us into a state of isolation and universal unease.
The other, systemic racism, has been infecting our country for 400 years, and its chronic symptoms continue to ravage our society.
Furthermore, we are rapidly approaching an election that will be monumental in shaping our country's future.
On a much smaller scale, our university is nearing a major transition from Division III to Division I, a jump that has never been made in the modern NCAA era.
Needless to say, there is a lot going on. In pondering how we might somehow incorporate all of this in our motto, I recalled my high school band experience. Each trimester, we received a "PSB" grade, which stood for "Part of Something Bigger." The goal was to create a positive, healthy environment within the band program; to encourage students to think outside of themselves and be conscious of how they were treating others, how they were approaching rehearsal, and how they were contributing individually to improve the band as a whole.
In bringing this experience into today's context, something clicked. I felt an alignment with those words, Part of Something Bigger, and what this season is all about: the recognition that we are part of a greater life context beyond basketball, and that we have a role to play, a purpose, within it.
At St. Thomas, we have the unique opportunity to top off 100 years of history in the MIAC, and to honor the incredible former players and coaches who got our program to where it is today. We also have the opportunity to establish our team culture in a new environment, one that will challenge us to grow and bring our game to the next level.
Even more important, however, are the opportunities we have as citizens of this country and human beings of this earth to make an impact on this moment in time. We have a moral obligation to protect those around us, to wear masks and follow COVID-19 guidelines, so that we can flip the balance back into a state of health, filled once again with hugs and crowded dinner tables.
We have a responsibility to face the horrific history and modern manifestations of racism in our country, and to work together to dismantle the systems and biases that have allowed racial injustice to persist. We have a duty as citizens of a democracy to use our voices and know that we can affect change.
We are all a part of something bigger. And while that recognition can sometimes lead us to a place of overwhelming fear, we cannot stay there. We must let it draw us closer to the present moment and the ways in which we can keep moving forward with resilience, love, and hope.
We do not know yet how much of our season we will be able to get in this year. We are doing everything we can to make it happen, but even so, it is still uncertain.
What we do know is that each day we are together is a gift, and that regardless of how our season plays out, this year will still matter. We love the work on the court, but we know there is more important work to be done beyond it.
All of us must acknowledge the ways in which we have fallen short, and seek out the ways in which we can actively work to be a part of the broader solution. We must always remember that we are part of something bigger, and that we have a choice in how we engage that. It does not mean we will show up perfectly, but let's show up, for each other.
The unselfish Porter wrote this essay for a new feature on the conference website titled "MIAC Journal."
--
Every year our basketball team has a motto, a phrase that we commit to and rally around. We try to make it unique to the current season—and this year's season is like nothing we've ever experienced.
The same can be said about the current state of the world: Everything seems so significant—so daunting, unpredictable, and with so many layers—that it's hard to capture the weight in words.
At a national and global level, we are living in the midst of two pandemics. One, COVID-19, came about quickly, disrupting our normal routines and forcing us into a state of isolation and universal unease.
The other, systemic racism, has been infecting our country for 400 years, and its chronic symptoms continue to ravage our society.
Furthermore, we are rapidly approaching an election that will be monumental in shaping our country's future.
On a much smaller scale, our university is nearing a major transition from Division III to Division I, a jump that has never been made in the modern NCAA era.
Needless to say, there is a lot going on. In pondering how we might somehow incorporate all of this in our motto, I recalled my high school band experience. Each trimester, we received a "PSB" grade, which stood for "Part of Something Bigger." The goal was to create a positive, healthy environment within the band program; to encourage students to think outside of themselves and be conscious of how they were treating others, how they were approaching rehearsal, and how they were contributing individually to improve the band as a whole.
In bringing this experience into today's context, something clicked. I felt an alignment with those words, Part of Something Bigger, and what this season is all about: the recognition that we are part of a greater life context beyond basketball, and that we have a role to play, a purpose, within it.
At St. Thomas, we have the unique opportunity to top off 100 years of history in the MIAC, and to honor the incredible former players and coaches who got our program to where it is today. We also have the opportunity to establish our team culture in a new environment, one that will challenge us to grow and bring our game to the next level.
Even more important, however, are the opportunities we have as citizens of this country and human beings of this earth to make an impact on this moment in time. We have a moral obligation to protect those around us, to wear masks and follow COVID-19 guidelines, so that we can flip the balance back into a state of health, filled once again with hugs and crowded dinner tables.
We have a responsibility to face the horrific history and modern manifestations of racism in our country, and to work together to dismantle the systems and biases that have allowed racial injustice to persist. We have a duty as citizens of a democracy to use our voices and know that we can affect change.
We are all a part of something bigger. And while that recognition can sometimes lead us to a place of overwhelming fear, we cannot stay there. We must let it draw us closer to the present moment and the ways in which we can keep moving forward with resilience, love, and hope.
We do not know yet how much of our season we will be able to get in this year. We are doing everything we can to make it happen, but even so, it is still uncertain.
What we do know is that each day we are together is a gift, and that regardless of how our season plays out, this year will still matter. We love the work on the court, but we know there is more important work to be done beyond it.
All of us must acknowledge the ways in which we have fallen short, and seek out the ways in which we can actively work to be a part of the broader solution. We must always remember that we are part of something bigger, and that we have a choice in how we engage that. It does not mean we will show up perfectly, but let's show up, for each other.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's BasketballFriday, September 18
Thursday, March 26
Saturday, March 07
Friday, March 06
