Name: Mikayla Williamson
College/University: Westminster College
Year: Senior
Major: English
Sport: Women's Golf

1. What is one thing you didn't know as a freshman coming into college that you wish someone would have told you?
I wish someone would have told me that the things that matter most are not the scores you shoot or where you fit in the line-up. What matters most is that you have fun everyday becoming a better person on and off the course. Don't sweat the small stuff or the mistakes. Just work at getting better.

2. What do you like most about competing in college sports?
I love traveling and meeting new people, and the knowledge and experience I gain from playing college golf. There's just something about participating in a team or organization that pushes me to set goals that will make me a better golfer and person. Playing college golf helps me to care more about my performance in school, be healthier, be a better friend, and help out more in my community. Most importantly playing college golf has helped me to learn good work ethic, be more dependable, and enjoy life more.

3. What do you like in your teammates?
I like that we all respect, support, and push each other. Anyone on the team would be willing to help someone else out anytime, and though we compete with each other we leave it all on the course. We are all good friends, and usually always have a good time playing and practicing together.

4. What do you like most about your college team?
I like that we have good inter-team competition but we don't let that distract us or deter us from our main goal of getting better and competing against ourselves. In some programs too much inter-team competition is emphasized and can be destructive.

5. Do you have a mentor? If so, who and what is the best piece of advice he/she has ever given you?
Yes, Dan Roskelli, the best advice he has given me was to stand up for my beliefs in any case or circumstance and to be myself. He helped me understand that I do not have a perfect game, but I do have a game that is uniquely mine, that I must learn to use.

6. What is a unique strength you bring to your team?
I guess you could say I am the "pusher." I ask if people have been playing, working out, setting goals, reading good books, or if they need help with anything. I've organized our team Christmas parties the past two years which have been awesome, and I help the coaches with other tasks that need to get done. One thing that I really encourage my teammates to believe is that they are ALL essential to the team's success, and that everyone's complete effort and contribution is necessary in order for us to reach our goals. The number 5 spot is just as important as the number 1 spot.

7. What is one thing you do in practice that helps you reach your goals?
I simply focus on one or two aspects of my game that I want to work on and improve that day, and enjoy practicing those drills. To do this I consciously think about how I am practicing, how much time I am devoting to a drill or task, and what specific goal I want to accomplish in that task. Everyone wants to get better but the difference between people who actually do get better and the ones that don't is the little things they DO everyday in the process of practice and their attitude. If I set realistic and attainable small goals and focus on those during practice, I get better everyday, and it eventually shows in my game.

8. How do you get focused / pumped up before a big game?
The night before I visualize how tomorrow is going to go. I also think back on the best shots I have had in the past to build my confidence up and then think about how that next round of golf is going to be even better. This process of visualization is especially important if the weather is bad or I am struggling with an aspect of my game, or not looking forward to walking 36 holes. Negative thoughts are cancerous. Positive thoughts and images must fill my mind in order for me to play well and maintain a good attitude throughout the round. Sometimes I listen to music, ponder one or two good quotes, think of things that make me laugh, or whatever it is that gets me thinking positive thoughts which could possibly have nothing to do with golf at all but has everything to do with having a good attitude and believing in myself.

9. What are your plans after graduation? Do you feel that being a student-athlete has helped guide you in that direction?
I plan to get a masters degree in teaching, then teach high school P.E. and English. I also plan to be a golf or volleyball coach either at the high school or college level. Playing college golf has definitely helped me to understand the dynamics of the student-teacher/athlete-coach relationship, and how both parties need to be equally flexible yet determined to meet a common goal or accomplish a task. Trust, communication, dedication, and goal setting are integral aspects that a teacher/coach and student/athlete must work together to uphold in order to improve or succeed in any program.

10. What has been the greatest moment in your college sports career?
Probably the most meaningful moment in my college golf career was when I received the NAIA Champion of Character award from my coach last spring. I haven't had great winning rounds, or amazing hole-in one stories, but receiving that award kind of captured everything that I have worked for: my character. After coming to Westminster, and deciding to focus on what is important in life, and not on scores or mechanics of the swing, I learned that no matter what I shoot, at the end of the day all I have is who I am. The scores don't matter, but who you are or who you are in the process of becoming is what really counts. I feel honored and blessed to have learned that lesson through playing college golf.

11. Talk a little about your character. What skill sets have you learned by competing in college sports?
I've learned that people, and the memories I make matter more than the scores. In the process of becoming a better golfer, I have also learned how to be a better friend, and teammate. I try to contribute my strengths and talents to the program, and also encourage others on the team to do the same. I also work daily to improve in some aspect of my life or golf game, and try to help my teammates in reaching their goals as well. The wonderful thing about focusing on the process of becoming a better person overall: physically, emotionally, and spiritually, is that I simultaneously improved my golf game; two birds with one stone. When I focused obsessively only on golf my freshman and sophomore years, I played terrible golf, lost track of myself, and lost balance in the rest of my life. Now I know how to set priorities, work toward goals, enjoy life and golf, and how to help others do the same. At the end of the day I learned great work ethic, how much positive attitude and belief in oneself and others makes a difference, and how delving into the details of the process of working towards anything is where true progression and strides of improvement occurs.

12. How will that help you later in your future career or in a leadership role?
I truly believe that focusing on the process of improvement is better than focusing on any end result and that can be applied to any and everything. However, that being said, I think it is necessary to visualize and describe how accomplishing that goal or reaching that end will look and feel like and remind yourself of that daily. It's important to keep dreaming and enjoying life while also working to improve life. The future depends on a lot of things but mostly on you, and what you choose to do in the present. I hope that as a teacher and coach I can be an example of this philosophy and teach my students and athletes to enjoy the present and also the process of improving towards a better future in all aspects of their life.