When both of your brothers were successful students and athletes at East, your dad works and coaches at East, and even your aunt and two cousins were Scarlets, it may seem intimidating to most to also go to East, but this does not apply to Kiya James. Kiya James is a senior at East High School who has filled big shoes by attending East. Kiya is committed to UCLA for softball, holds track records for East, and plays varsity volleyball for East.
“Both of my brothers came to East and my dad has been teaching at East and coaching at East since they’ve been here too, and then I’ve also had two cousins that came here and then I also had an aunt that came here, so of course I want to follow in that and I don’t want to go somewhere else,” Kiya James said.
Kiya could not imagine herself going to another school as a lot of her family have attended and been successful at East. Kiya takes a lot of challenging classes here at East and at Central Academy, which have played a major role in helping Kiya prepare for her college journey.
“I take AP psychology here, and then at Central right now I’m taking calculus BC, capstone or humanities which is like an English course kind of, and AP physics. I think central is really setting me up because when you’re at Central they challenge you a lot in your courses and stuff and I’ve heard a lot of people that used to go to Central and they’re in college now come back and talk and say it prepares you really well for college,” Kiya James said.
Kiya feels more prepared for college because of the challenging, advanced courses she takes at East and Central.
The classes Kiya has decided to take have helped her get closer to her final decision on what she is going to major. Kiya isn’t fully sure on what she wants to do yet, but she is interested in the social sciences pathway.
“Right now, I’m undecided on social sciences, I’m thinking psychology path though. I’m interested in sports psychology maybe,” Kiya James said.
Kiya is going to college at University of California, Los Angeles. Kiya feels a little nervous going to college as she is moving very far away, but she is mostly excited as she knows that she will still be able to fly or drive out to still come home and she will get to experience new things in California.
“I would say I’m kind of nervous, but the fact that a flight is a flight and a drive is a drive helps. If I really need to come home I can pay for the flight, I’ll find a way. The team dynamic out there is like a family, so I’ll have a family out there. And then I’m also excited to see something so much different from Iowa,” Kiya James said.
Kiya’s family is very supportive of her going to UCLA no matter the distance, especially because UCLA has always been one of Kiya’s top schools to go to.
“I’m comfortable with it because this is something that she has wanted to do. When it came down to where she was going to go to school, UCLA was always one of her top three schools. So there was something that she wanted, I was going to support it no matter what,” Kiya James’ dad Carlos James said.
Even though softball has played a major role in Kiya’s life and gave her a sports scholarship, it’s not the only sport she plays and is successful in.
“I play volleyball, I run track, and I play softball. I started volleyball because I used to be a basketball player and I’m not a big fan of basketball and I was like ‘okay, well let me at least try volleyball’, and then I ended up liking it. I did track because my brother used to long jump when I was little and I said I wanted to long jump too, and then I also knew the high school coach and so I got into track in middle school and did it in high school as well. Softball is just kind of the thing I’ve done since I was a kid,” Kiya James said.
Kiya has made a profound impact on her track and volleyball teammates. She is an encouraging, kind, and loyal teammate who is always there to support her teammates at times they need her.
“Kiya has impacted my experience in track and volleyball by always being there to uplift me and the other girls. She was always able to make us smile even when we didn’t want to and was a light to be around,” senior Nevaeh Scott said.
Even though Kiya is very dedicated to volleyball and track, she is even more dedicated to softball. Kiya spends a lot of her time playing and grinding softball as it has given her major opportunities, but she is aware of how important it is to prioritize things above softball and her other sports. She suggests that other student athletes have priorities above their sport and also be confident and loud while playing.
“I have God above softball, I have my family above softball, but at the same time those are very high things, so softball is still high up in my life, but I would just say have something to cope with and also just be yourself when you play. Communicate, be loud; be loud on the field and be loud on the court,” Kiya James said.
Kiya has many interesting hobbies outside of sports, like baking and building puzzles. Kiya’s favorite thing to bake is pumpkin muffins, even though they don’t always turn out.
“I’m doing a puzzle right now. I really like puzzles and I also like to bake. Sometimes it doesn’t turn out but sometimes it’s pretty good. I really like to make pumpkin muffins,” Kiya James said.
Kiya has made many unforgettable and remarkable high school memories throughout her four years of attending East. She has made many memories throughout her years of playing sports, like breaking school records in track and reverse sweeping schools in volleyball, memories from some of her classes she has taken at East, and more.
“So volleyball season, this past season we reverse swept like two or three teams. Those were exciting games. They were stressful, but they were exciting, I have good memories from that. For track when I broke the school record at East it felt really nice to do it, especially doing it at East. I had my coaches there and that was a good memory. I definitely have some good memories from yearbook,” Kiya James said.
