My name is Brady Durkan. Ever since I can remember, I always played sports. From little kid programs playing soccer, basketball, baseball, and football. To playing travel baseball year round and football in the fall. Being a student athlete is a great opportunity. It’s teaches you life lessons along the way. At some point in life, the athlete chapter is going to close. Many people what their life will look like, if they can handle it, and many other scenarios following that chapter. Being an athlete in any sport teaches you grit, determination, but most importantly to never give up. During my senior year in high school, I tore my UCL in the very first game of the season. It happened in the first quarter and I knew it tore. But that didn’t stop me, I played the rest of the game knowing my senior year was done. I often referred back to one of the best athletes of all time Kobe Bryant when he tore his Achilles and walked back out to the floor to shoot his last two free throws. You can’t let people see you weak. Even when you know your season is over, you have to stay strong and finish the job. And that’s exactly what I did. I finished the rest of the game with seven tackles, two sacks, and two touchdowns to help my team win 28-14 versus the number twentieth team in the state of California. This same feeling can translate to the classroom. Your going to have to finish a hard assignment, test, group work, or even a presentation. How will you respond? Just like you did on the field. Showing resilience and getting your job done right and efficiently as possible. It’s about not letting your class mates down, teachers, coaches, and team mates. Life is hard, but it only makes you better. After I tore my UCL, I was cut from Cal Poly SLO for a baseball scholarship. I felt like my life was falling apart. But I never gave up and kept battling to prove my future self I can do anything I put my mind to. Everyone has a story, but your own individual story is the one that matters most. You have to be okay with knowing someone is going to have a better attribute or skill than you. But no one should have a better work ethic, mindset, and consistency than you do. It’s about how you want to be remembered inside and outside the classroom. I am now committed to California State University, Bakersfield to play baseball and I am majoring in Agricultural Business to become a Salesman for Four Star Fruit. Anything is possible in life, and never give up. Being a student athlete is the best thing I could have ever asked for.
Throughout my life, I have been known to have ambitious goals, some of which I have met, that
have made me who I am today. My first goal that I have accomplished was placing in the 2022
Los Angeles Marathon - otherwise known as 26.2 miles of an emotional and physical
rollercoaster. Years of training paid off on that warm spring day, where I placed third in the under
18 category. I also ran the marathon for a nonprofit organization that I’ve been a part of for the
past 3 years. Volunteering with the World Vision organization has allowed me to contribute in
ways I could have never imagined. I help plan 6 kilometer charity runs events throughout
Bakersfield, and the funds go towards this program which sends our ambassadors out to Africa
in order to build wells in communities for easier access to clean water. World Vision specifically
emphasizes the six kilometer distance for their events because it is the average distance a child
has to walk to attain water. Other than serving as a high school ambassador for this
organization, other leadership roles I currently hold are captain of the Varsity softball team (and
cross country for 3 years), involved in ASB Leadership at my high school, and also in my
church.
Another lofty goal of mine involves athletics because ever since I was a young girl I have always
dreamed of playing softball at a big Division 1 College. I have played softball my whole life, and
when it was time to get serious, my parents and I chose to join a more competitive organization
out of Los Angeles in order for our scouting and recruiting levels to be higher and in a more
competitive environment than what we have in our hometown, Bakersfield. After about 2 years
of competitive softball with tournament after tournament all year long, it came the season of
recruitment time. After a lengthy 5 month process of eligibility, I received a total of 7 collegiate
offers to play softball at the next level. After traveling the country visiting these schools, I chose
to accept an almost full scholarship to play Division 1 softball at Wager College in Staten Island,
New York. I am beyond excited and enjoy giving back to my community
in a way that is near and dear to my heart. I was an assistant coach in an amature softball
league for 8 year olds while also giving lessons and hosting local camps to teach kids who are
first growing their love for the sport. This serves as an income for me as well as allowing me to
share my knowledge of the sport I love.
My faith is something I truly value, and post recruitment process and collegiate offers I made the
decision to get baptized last summer. Ways I choose to serve involve the JCW Kick’s for Kids organization, whom I have become close with over the last few months. Lately we have been planning weekly bible studies for our high school ministry as well as hosting events like worship nights and promoting it out as much as we can. It is important for me to share my testimony because though I am young, I believe that God has worked tremendously in my life and spreading his good word is the least I can do to serve Him. My relationships that I have made within our high school ministry and beyond are ones that I cherish the most, and being involved in the church has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.
