Teny Gakdeng '19 Recruiting Profile

I am the first born to a family from South Sudan who came here as refugees in the late nineties. I am a first generation born in the United States. Being from South Sudan, we are naturally dark skin, tall, and very athletic. My dream to become a professional basketball player started at a very young age. I played for fun for many years.

When I was in 7^th grade I decided to become more serious about my basketball career and started playing AAU basketball. I played for a few years for Team Takeover in the Washington DC area. I have attended many tournaments including traveling to other states. I moved to Lincoln Nebraska in summer of 2016, since then I have been playing high school basketball. Currently I play for Lincoln Supreme.

Athletics has impacted my life positively in many ways. Playing basketball for as long as I have taught me the importance of being a team player. Also being a student athlete has taught me a lot about multitasking and time management. Other important personal traits that I have gained from athletics are responsibility, perseverance, physical endurance and personal health.

Becoming a collegiate student athlete will affect my future positively in many ways. First and most importantly, my family believe in education because education has the power to change lives. Secondly, it is very important for my family that I secure a full college scholarship. Getting a full scholarship is going to lift a huge burden from my family, it means I will graduate from college with no debt. Many young men and women from South Sudan dream of following in the footsteps of Monute Bol, Lual Dedng, and Thon Maker. I am not different; my dream is to play for the NBA.

I am interested in sciences, more specifically physics and astronomy. 5 years from now, I see myself as a senior or a young graduate from college. I know that I will have to work very hard to get into a good school and I am willing to take the challenge. I plan to get there by giving nothing but my best every day in the classroom and on the basketball court. My family is my strength and I will affect them positively by making sure we do well both socially and financially. I will also make them proud by being a great person in all that I do.