Taryn Giles '21 Recruiting Profile

    Since I began playing basketball in the first grade, I have been blessed enough to accumulate some accolades. However, what makes me and the people around me the proudest, is the person basketball helped me become. My path with basketball was one with trials. Basketball did not come naturally to me; while I was lucky enough to be blessed academically, basketball did not come nearly as easy to me. I had to work extremely hard for everything I got; because of this, basketball taught me what a strong work ethic really is. 

    As a freshman, I was able to come on varsity and start. That season was easily one of the best seasons I’ve had thus far. However, all of that came to a screeching halt when I injured my knee. In the last two minutes of the game, my teammate collided with me in the air; I tore my ACL, MCL, and Meniscus. Since that injury, I began volunteering in many different places. An important thing that came from this injury was it showed my love for helping people, and this particularly manifested in medicine. I soon began to learn that I want to become an orthopedic surgeon.

    Tearing my ACL showed the real mental and physical strength that I possess, I did not bend under the pressure that had been put upon me. It is not like me to be the flashiest, however, I believe that my past experiences have shown me the real strength a team player possesses. Due to this, I pride myself on doing things on the court that are cannot be seen through stats; such as screens, boxing out, and keeping the energy flowing throughout the team. One of my favorite parts of game day is the energy during warmups. Even when I'm on the bench, you can find me yelling and giving my teammates energy. By controlling my energy, effort, and work ethic I know I will be able to do the same on any team!