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Chinenye Okafor (Yale '07) |
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Bio
 What was your experience in youth athletics? Were there opportunities available to you?
There wasn’t really, I am from a pretty small town. There was just either SIR, which was like a little league that we had. Supposedly we had this little AAU team but the AAU is only amongst people involved, which was hardly anybody. So there was only that many opportunities. We could go to St. Louis and try to find a team, which is what my older sister did but by when it came to my time we didn’t have a chance. St. Louis is two hours, which is close for my family. We drive everywhere.
What about the Ivy League made you want to go to Yale?
At the very beginning I didn’t want to go to Yale. I didn’t really know much about it, it was an Ivy League, My older sister did and my parents did but I didn’t. I don’t know I guess I didn’t pay that much attention. But when I came on my recruiting visit and like I took some tours and I stayed with a couple of people on the basketball team I guess like after I left I knew that I had to come here. I mean everything was like a complete package when I came on my recruiting visit. I realized all the opportunities I would have coming here and the basketball team was pretty good too. The academics are excellent and I wanted to go to a good academic school. So it was perfect to come here, I just felt like my recruiting trip was what sealed the deal.
How does an Ivy League experience affect your athletics pursuits?
I guess it’s pretty difficult. Like sleeping is not really an option. Maybe just because my major is electrical engineering so out of everyone else in my major there are only two girls, I’m one of them. None of them play any sports except for one person. So they spend like hours upon hours on the same thing I am spending just a couple hours on. I have to devout more time to that. I guess it keeps me more disciplined because if I didn’t play basketball and just did academics then I would think I had all the time in the world and then never get anything done. It’s difficult but I can handle it.
What obstacles still stand to young women who want to participate in athletics?
One of them is AAU. I feel like all that playing in basketball programs growing up means they don’t get attention from their parents. Their parents don’t devout as much time as my parents did and other parents would. Second the academic issue, they might devout all their time to basketball and everything but then there is no one in the household that stresses for them to get good grades. Then you can come to college and you see some of the people who are like academically unable to play once they are in college. I know we played a team like that and like six of them were out because of that.
What has athletics done for young girls that choose to participate?
I feel like athletics has made women stronger. I know a lot of people who don’t play athletics and I just get frustrated with the things that they say or they do or they don’t do. I feel like athletics have given women a purpose to life. Most people who come out from athletics you see them go on to get better jobs and strive for higher things in life. I feel like it has given women a chance to see that they are equal to men. Or have a chance to be equal to men. If you only have men’s sports, how can women be equal in women don’t even have a chance to play. That has played a big role in that I feel it has definitely strengthened women and given them more opportunities.
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