America East will
highlight one of its student-athletes each month for the length of the school
year. “Shining Stars, Star Students” documents the life of some of the
conference’s star athletes beyond just their athletic achievements. In the fifth
installment, the spotlight is on Albany women's basketball senior captain Kristen Higy, written by Brian DePasquale, Albany's Assistant AD for Athletic Media Relations.
Kristin Higy, a senior captain on the University at Albany women’s basketball team, is not afraid to fail. Whether its helping the Great Danes make a dramatic move to the upper echelon of the America East Conference standings, assisting a single-parent family in need, or working toward a career path of owning her own business, Higy uses a positive attitude to reach her goals.
“If you don’t believe in what you are doing and the people around you, then you can’t achieve anything,” offered Higy, a member of the UAlbany Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll with a 3.58 cumulative grade point average in a dual major of communication and business administration.
"As a team, we have to work both on and off the court,” said Higy, whose squad has shown great improvement since the conference schedule began. “We are working toward the same goal and can’t be afraid to fail. That has made me stronger.”
The 6-foot-1 forward is a member of UAlbany’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Executive Committee. SAAC’s mission is to provide feedback to the administration from the more than 400 student-athletes, plus take on and develop initiatives and be supportive of each other. The goal of having a presence in the community is also part of SAAC’s agenda. One of the group’s recent projects was to work with the Adopt-A-Family program during the holidays. UAlbany athletic teams raised money and bought gifts for sponsored families.
"It’s amazing how you can have an affect on people,” explained Higy, who also helped raise $420 through raffles at home football and basketball games and donated the money to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York. “Seeing the mom’s face when we came to her house to drop off all the gifts is what Christmas is all about. She didn’t stop smiling the whole time we were there. It felt good that we could make one family’s Christmas special."
According to UAlbany Director of Student-Athlete Support Services Jennifer Svatik, the Adopt-A-Family program helped the giver as well as the recipient. “All of the teams took part and learned to appreciate all the amenities they have as student-athletes. How they can have an impact on those less fortunate with some effort.”
Higy, a native of Akron, Ohio who transferred from George Mason University three years ago, is also influencing her team’s basketball season. She has brought the blue-collar mentality of the Northeast Ohio region to the floor where she is having an all-conference type season. The Great Danes are near the top of the America East and enjoying unparalleled success as a Division I program.
"We have the talent here and great chemistry on the floor,” stated Higy, who is among the conference leaders in scoring, rebounding and three-point field goal percentage. “(Winning) is something we haven’t felt. It is different, but great. We always kept our heads up and knew we were going to bounce back.”
The Great Danes struggled during the non-league schedule, but through some failures found achievement. How a team gets through the obstacles may have as much to do with player leadership as coaching.
“This is my second year as a captain,” Higy said. “In a team sport you have to deal with people and all types of personalities. You have to direct people for the team’s best interests. Some people are mature enough to handle themselves, but others need reinforcement.”
And how does this translate into a young woman who goes from making jump shots to baking pumpkin cheese cake in her spare time?. For one, she thinks all these experiences will serve her well as a professional. “At the beginning of each semester, I write on a calendar my game and exam schedule,” said Higy, who lists skydiving and bungee jumping as ambitions. I know when I have to study or write a paper."
For Kristin Higy, helping people, being a leader, managing time and staying positive, have prepared her to be successful.