Postgraduate student Aisha Gay is a sprinter for the UTRGV Women’s Track and Field Team. Transferring from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, Gay brings with her five gold medals from the Metro Atlantic Championships and a personal best of 7.81 seconds in the 60-meter dash. Gay is pursuing her second bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation services and counseling.
Q: What do you like to do for fun besides your sport?
A: “I like to braid hair for fun. I feel like I just do it [because] it’s just a stress reliever. It just kinda gets my mind off of school, track, just being a student athlete for a while.”
Q: Do you have any shows you really like, or are watching right now?
A: “Yes, I think a show I really like right now that I’m watching is [‘Power Book II: Ghost’] with Tariq. That’s one of my favorite shows. I love the series of ‘Power’; it’s on STARZ. It’s amazing. It always catches my attention.”
Q: Is there anything you’re looking forward to soon?
A: “I’m looking forward to the last three meets. I’m ready for championships. I’m ready to run that. Great time to get me into the NCAA Regionals. I’m trying to qualify and go as far as I can this semester.”
Q: In the future, are you looking to be a pro runner?
A: “Yes, I would love to be a pro runner. I think coach [Shareese] Hicks has the mechanics and the expertise to get me there ’cause she was a pro runner, so I’m just really excited. I think that after this year, I’ll definitely be able to go semi-pro, if not, fully pro.”
Q: How did you start getting into running?
A: “I got into running when I was around 10 years old. I just went out for a summer track program. I tried cross-country. It wasn’t for me, but the coach looked at me and he was like ‘You have legs. You have the body for doing sprints,’ and I went out there. I did sprints. And in high school, I took it more seriously. I started the [200- and 400-meter dash] and I just became a master at it.”
Q: Do you have any role models?
A: “Yes, I definitely would say, not trying to be cliche, but my role model definitely has to be coach Hicks. She’s an amazing coach. I’ve never had a coach that just puts so much detail into everything I do. I came here and said ‘I need to work on these things’ and she actually helped me work on those things. And she just, I don’t know, to me she’s just an all around amazing person and she just happens to be one of my new role models of my track career.”
Q: How does UTRGV compare to other track teams that you have run for?
A: “UTRGV compared to the last college I went to, it was a family there, but I feel more welcomed here. I feel like this is such a family and such a unit. We always lift each other up. We always put each other on pedestals. When someone does good, we all do good. We always cheer each other on, and I just love the support and the family behind the team.”
–Compiled by Julien Juarez
