McHenry Trades in Sneakers For Combat Boots

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – CSU Bakersfield alumna and former women's basketball forward Malayasia McHenry has traded in her life in hoops to serve her country in the armed forces.

"Words can't really describe how proud I am," said Head Coach Greg McCall. "I brought up joining the military to her but then backed off the idea and encouraged her towards corrections. Then with the hiring freeze from COVID she decided to look back into the Army."

For the past eight weeks McHenry has been at Fort Lee in Virginia for Advanced Individual Training in her new career as a Unit Supply Specialist with the United States Army. Her next stop will be more permanent with a three year and eight-month contract at Ford Hood in Texas.

"I am so happy for her that she found stability and in a meaningful way as a productive citizen," he added. "That's something we talk about a lot in our program with our young women. She's serving our country and I couldn't be prouder."

McHenry related her job responsibilities to that of an athletics equipment director and added, "I'll be working with my commander to ensure that all the soldiers have all the equipment they need, whether it's for deployment or just simply working in an office. It's my job to supply the soldiers with the proper materials."

Q: What was the transition like for you from college ball player to armed forces?

The transition wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I still wake up each morning and work out before class just like I did while in college. The only thing that's different for me is having to outwork so many more people who are competing to be recognized just like me or just trying to stand out from others in general. You have to take the initiative to do things that others wouldn't do. I ran a 10 mile with our first sergeant and was one of the top three females to finish. I received the Army Achievement Medal, which is one of the toughest awards to receive because you have so many people here competing for it daily.

I will say it was kind of hard to adjust to realizing that the Army is so much bigger than me and that if I were to get out today it wouldn't matter to them. I had to realize that this isn't just a 15-person team anymore, there are thousands of us.

Another thing that was different for me was coming from playing basketball with all black females and about two different other cultures to joining the Army and working with many different cultures, ages and ethnicities.

Q: Why Army?
I chose the Army because I wanted more for myself and my siblings after graduation. I felt as if I was getting stagnant, doing the same thing every single day and not getting the results I wanted. I felt the Army would help me become a better person, more disciplined with life itself and more mature. I also joined the Army because I felt it is what God has called me to do.

~GoRunners.com~

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