Stories

"My name is Tia Hay, and I'm a senior and sociology major at Santa Clara University. I'm originally from Melbourne, Australia and decided to move overseas to play basketball and continue school. My first opportunity to play high school basketball was in Sacramento, California. That year we were NorCal Champions and made it to the CIF state championship. The following two years I was the starting point guard at Salt Lake Community College. We qualified for the NJCAA tournament both years and made it to the Final Four. I had an amazing junior college experience and was lucky enough to make the NJCAA All-American first team and earn conference player of the year my freshman and sophomore year.

SCU recruited me late into my sophomore year. They were looking for an additional point guard that could bring some college experience to the team. I'm excited to spend my last year of collegiate basketball at SCU and am looking forward to starting the season with my teammates. Our goal is to make it further into the conference tournament and hopefully qualify for the NCAA tournament."

Sociology has taught me to be more open and aware of the people and (sub)cultures around me. Because our environment is so diverse, we are constantly surrounded by people who think differently than the way we do. Sociology has improved my open-mindedness which gives me the ability to see things from other people's perspectives. These are important transferable skills that prepare you for the real world.