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The Coach
176 Plays7 months ago
La Tanya Sheffield, CSULB's head track & field coach, shares her experiences as she prepares to lead the U.S. Olympic team in Paris.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'At the Beach' Podcast
00:00:17
Speaker
Hello, I'm Dan Montoya, Vice President for University Relations and Development. Welcome to the ninth episode of At the Beach. This podcast produced by URD shares news of accomplishments and honors, personal stories, and ways listeners can become involved with Cal State Long Beach.
Guest Introduction: Latanya Sheffield
00:00:35
Speaker
Today, I am delighted to introduce my guest, Latanya Sheffield, former NCAA champion, American record holder, Olympian, U.S. World Championships and Olympic team coach and head coach at Cal State Long Beach. Latanya is in her 12th season at the beach and her second as the head men's and women's track coach. She works with all her sprinters, hurdlers, and relay teams.
Latanya's Achievements and Olympic Role
00:01:03
Speaker
Latanya made an immediate impact upon joining Beach Athletics. Her teams have won seven championships in 10 years, with the men claiming five titles and the women claiming back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023. In high demand on the international stage, Latanya was named head women's coach for the team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics this February. She will also work with the teams USA sprinters and hurdlers at the Paris games. Latanya also served as the USA national women's head coach for the 2022 world championships.
00:01:46
Speaker
Latanya was the 1985 NCAA champion while at San Diego State University and won a bronze medal at the 1987 Pan American Games. She finished eighth in the 400 meter hurdles final at the 1988 Summer are Olympics and retired from the competitive running stage at the 2000 Olympic trials. Latanya is part of a remarkable running family. Her daughter, Jade debt Stettner-Baines ran for the University of Southern California, where she was a three-time Pac-12 Pacific champion. Like her mom, she stood out in the 400 hurdles and competed in several international competitions for the U.S.
Latanya's Athletic Family Background
00:02:32
Speaker
Latanya's brother, Ron, he was the head coach at her alma mater, San Diego State. As you can tell, listing Latanya's accomplishments could fill an entire episode. But I know you're eager to learn more about Latanya Sheffield, the person. So without further ado, I am so happy to welcome to At the Beach, Latanya. Oh, wow. Who is that girl? Thank you so much, Dan, for just ah allowing me this time, this space to share with you. I really, really appreciate it. um Just listening to all of the history, I have to kind of pinch myself because I feel so humbled, so blessed. I appreciate ah all of the journey for sure.
00:03:20
Speaker
Yeah, and it's it's so amazing because, you know, you look at the the scope of your work through the years and and you're probably thinking, wow, you know, it's not a big deal. But I just get tongue twisted at all the the accomplishments and the years that you've invested. And so I'm just so excited to have you here.
Current Track Season and Paris Olympics
00:03:37
Speaker
And so I want to just jump into this conversation and we'll just ask you some questions. And we just want to hear, you know, your thoughts and your inputs. So here goes question one. We're wrapping up another academic year in the track and field season and getting even closer to the 2024 Olympics in Paris. How are you feeling about the US squad and what you'll be doing at the Games?
00:03:59
Speaker
wow Well, I'm very optimistic, very hopeful at just our future as as as Team USA. Athletes are fine-tuning their craft as we speak. There are track meets going on, international track meets that are ah going on while people and teams are preparing. um We are definitely going to be prepared for ah any and everything that happens in Paris. um In terms of what's happening for me right now, I'm in the moment. I'm in the Long Beach State post-season moment. And so I think it's in my best interest to be where I'm going to be at whatever particular time, knowing what my future holds. So I'm more in celebratory fashion for our our Long Beach State student athletes.
00:04:55
Speaker
That's great. And I know you, you were sharing on how you guys finished this year and, and, you know, just, you know, just listening to you on how you understand the development of people. Right.
Coaching Philosophy and Experiences
00:05:07
Speaker
So maybe you, you want to share about your, your, some, maybe some of the highlights of the season real quick before we go into the next question. Oh, wow. So um as you stated, I am the men as well as women's head coach. And so our our a team just encompasses so many talented athletes and um from our javelin throwers,
00:05:32
Speaker
Man, we have Nikolai Freshland. He's absolutely amazing along with Conrad Bernstein. Both of those folks did very well in our conference championships, but they also now are moving forward into our NCAA regional. championship so it's so super exciting. We have a gang of those type of folks, right? so From the long jumpers, or I'm sorry, it's the triple jumpers, to to our hurdlers, oh man. So I gotta kinda pop my collar a little bit if you don't mind. yeah yeah But we have student athletes, men and women, that will be representing ah Long Beach State at the NCAA Regional Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. a Really, really super excited, so we'll see.
00:06:18
Speaker
You've been out there on one of the biggest stages in the world, the Olympics, right? Both as an athlete and an assistant coach. Can you describe the emotions and experiences that come with marching onto the Olympic Stadium, competing in a final and being surrounded by athletes who have dedicated their lives to reaching this moment? Wow, okay, so it's kind of, you know, it's it's it's it's a big deal. It's a big deal first. There is, for me, I have the insight as as as ah as an athlete.
00:06:54
Speaker
You've kind of been there done that and it's such a momentous stage for sure. But then I also have insight for sure as a coach. And so if I can just share with you a little bit on both um but of both worlds, I'd be glad to do that. I can tell you that as an athlete, it it's about the moment of being in the Olympic games, no doubt, no doubt. but the journey is what makes you. right The journey is where you remember who you are when you get to the stage. yeah
00:07:31
Speaker
all of the ups and the downs, the hard work, the the losses in maybe competition, um maybe some have even experienced injury and they've had to pull themselves up from their own bootstraps to get to that level. And so it's the journey that and when you stand on that on that in that stage or in that arena, that's what you really remember. you are going against the world's best. This is the time in which you lose your surname and you gain a country. Wow, that's powerful. It's nothing like the weight on your shoulders that no one else can see. And it's definitely heavy. Now, on the other end, on the other end, then you have the coach's purview.
00:08:25
Speaker
We have poured as much as we possibly can all of our knowledge, all of our passion, our desires, our dreams, our hopes and into creating this, this opportunity for someone else. I believe that the coach is the ultimate giver. the ultimate giver and every walk, every step that that athlete takes, whether they are on the apron of a high jump or perhaps on the runway of a long jump. But every single step, we are right there. The issue is we're pretty much helpless. We have given all what we've had. And then we say to the athlete,
00:09:17
Speaker
Now go execute, execute. Wow. And then you're just waiting to see what happens. Yes. Nails biting the whole nine. That's powerful. It kind of, it kind of reminds us of being a parent. Yeah. In a sense, right? You're, you're trusting all these efforts that you put into this one individual and just hoping that everything that you have instilled will, and then, and even at the level, that you're coaching against, right? Because other people are at similar levels, right? Well, everyone wants the same thing. And however you get to that end road, whatever the journey has been, and I would imagine that maybe, I don't know, France and the French athletes, they've arrived their way. Japan has arrived their way.
00:10:08
Speaker
the United States, we do it this way also. right right And we're all trying to get to ultimately that gold, silver, or bronze performance. That's what we're looking for. So it's definitely a difficult task because everybody wants it. Everyone wants it. Absolutely. And yeah, that's I can't even imagine but you've been there and that's that's so powerful the way you explain it. Can you elaborate on your responsibilities as a US coach at the Paris Olympics? How do your experience as a world class athlete inform your coaching philosophy and methods because you know you you have so many years of
00:10:53
Speaker
seeing this over and over in many iterations, but that you're walking into something that's still new. Oh, it's always to new. It's it's so it can't get any newer. I have been able to coach. Now this will be my third Olympic Games, um where I have served as a coach. In 2016, we had the Zika virus. Yeah, y'all remember that, right? And all of the nuances actually kind of helped prepare us for then in 2020 Olympic Games, which we held it in 21 in Tokyo, Japan, it prepared us kind of sort of for COVID. COVID was certainly extreme. But any part of that, we wouldn't have been able to tell what would really happen at that moment.
00:11:51
Speaker
And so I'm not quite sure what's going to be in front of of our team, in front of me even serving as a head coach here and in in the and in Paris at this 24 Olympic Games. But I can tell you this, Dan, I'm prepared. i I have no doubt. and And the reason why I say that, and even with um such, um um I guess, confidence, but absolute humility is because of the journeys. yeah And so when you speak to, like what did you personally experience? yeah
00:12:25
Speaker
Okay, well, as an athlete, first of all, in college, I was a walk-on. I was a walk-on student athlete. There was no scholarship that someone was handing to me as I was 17, 18 years old. right So I had to learn how to to to earn my way. I had to learn how to be a contributor to the program. right And and I think that all of those little bitty tools that you can put in your in your toolkit, it it it served for me for such a time as this. Then here I am really as our head coach of of ah of a track and field team where there's so many different nuances. It's not just being on the track, it is all of the administrative things that you've gotta do behind your desk as well.
00:13:19
Speaker
So again, more stuff in my toolkit.
Challenges for Division I Student Athletes
00:13:23
Speaker
And then just working with the student athletes, the diversity of personalities, backgrounds, and just having to meet people at their need for just such a time as this. yeah That's why I can say I'm prepared. Yeah, and and even even thinking about that, it's like, okay, you're you're watching one one runner, one javelin, but in the back of your mind, you're thinking, okay, what's next? Who do I have to worry about? I mean, it's you're juggling many, many things. that yeah that's That's not only taxing on your emotional you know get capacity, your physical, your mental. like You're just on in the moment, 100%.
00:14:08
Speaker
Yeah, well, so it it really, you you hit the nail on the head in terms of the emotional part of it. um I think that we invest so much as coaches um wanting to, wanting so much for that that individual athlete. yeah And then at the same time you want it for the entire team. So you're tallying how many wins and how many losses and on and on. But then you can never, never forget the human spirit. right Never forget the human spirit. And so ah you take the highs as well as you take the lows. It's it's it's really an amazing roller coaster ride. yeah But as long as you have your seat belt on, you're gonna be all right. That's great.
00:14:55
Speaker
LaTanya, in part of a remarkable running family, you know, your daughter Jade ran for USC, right? Yes. And she was a three-time PAC 12 Olympic champion. um Tell us about that a little bit. and And now it's not you, but it's your next generation. For sure. What is that all about? Well, gosh, so I had the blessing to be able to coach both my daughters. I i actually actually had Jade has an older sister ok and that older sister taught her all she knows. But Jay forgets that part every now and again. you know That second child is always something special. But at at the end of the day, um I got an opportunity to coach both my daughters when they were in high school. And ah one went on to Stanford while the other went to USC.
00:15:50
Speaker
the one that went to USC really found some it exceptional success there. And it was really um a a tribute to her coaches, their staff, and all the resources that um they provide student athletes, much like ours. And I knew, I mean, I'm an Olympian. and and And my children know I know about track. So it was easier for them to hear me right when I would make corrections in high school. But when they went off to college and they had their own coaches, that was the best time for me to step back. m If I didn't step back, Dan, I would have made there their theirre their their lives, their career really ah ah tumultuous because they would hear me. They've been with me all all their life. right They trust me, they love me.
00:16:46
Speaker
but they know that i know about track and field yeah so with that being said it would not have been a benefit if they um if I had came in with a voice, because it would have been stronger than the coach at whatever college. yeah So I was very quiet. yeah And even if they she would ask, well, what's your thoughts about this, that, and in the and the other, then I would just have to say, but your coach knows you better.
00:17:19
Speaker
So I think that's so wise, you know what I mean? And it just it it just again it demonstrates the Seasoness of your experience of coaching and knowing where when to be in the moment where your place is and But i I guarantee you and I know that as their victories were come, you were jumping up inside saying, that's my girl, that's my girl. Absolutely. I had really, well, they had really great coaches right that I had relationship with and they would also send me text messages because ah when Jade actually went to college, I also came to Long Beach State. Right. So I wasn't able to go to her track meets.
00:18:03
Speaker
but her coaches were so gracious to send me text messages and such. Now, trust and believe, it's always been drama in this, I'm going to call it Sheffield Steptor household, right? I still take my maiden name, but at any rate, um because if one went to USC and the other went to Stanford, then you already know that there was a football, there was already some contention period. right Absolutely. And then the and then just the the the the girls being in college, if you will, together, that was also that kind of thing. But then when it came where I was actually coaching and not able to go to the track meets,
00:18:43
Speaker
it definitely caused some heat between my husband and myself because he was able to go and I wasn't. and ah You missed it, you should have seen it. Oh my gosh, we we that's just a running a running joke in our family. But he had been there the whole time. I really wanna say that I created a lot of my success. a lot of our family success to the foundation, the the backbone, and that's my husband. Because even as an athlete, you know, I was running and doing all those kind of things and he was there. He's he's been there the whole time. And when I decided to, we started our family and I decided to go back to track and field,
00:19:27
Speaker
Wow, he was there. He was the he was the the dad that had the the the the kids between his legs and braiding their hair or whatever it was and combing hair and doing doing cooking dinners and things of that sort. I owe so much to him at the at ah at the end of it all. um it has been An amazing ride. An amazing ride. That's great. Well, and I appreciate you going into your perspective on, you you know, your children and coaching. Latanya, help your listeners understand what it takes to be a student athlete at the Division I level. What are the biggest challenges they face and what support systems are in place to help them excel both on the track and in the classroom?
Diversity at Cal State Long Beach
00:20:13
Speaker
Wow. So that's a ah pretty loaded question, but I can say the thing that is most poignant for me is um setting goals, just setting those larger goals, more holistic goals, right and then um taking one day at a time and finding the wins in each day. um it's very it's It's very difficult for that new, that first time, first year student athlete to come on the campus and um things are so new, so things are so different, there's a different system for them to become acclimated.
00:21:03
Speaker
Even the coaching, just different, it's just at a higher level. right And so to, one, be okay with just being human, be all right with not knowing all the answers. and trusting other people for their um expertise. that I think that that is the biggest thing to to to kind of grasp. It's difficult. It's actually difficult because there is the social development, but then there also is that academic
00:21:42
Speaker
Increase of of of of of Rigor and then my goodness athletically It's it's it's quite consuming Because it's just not you go out and you run fast or jump far. It is a matter of get into the training room ah Get acquainted with the sports psychologists Let's go and weight-lift At the same time, let's make sure that you your nutrition is up to par. These are all the different resources that we have available for the student athlete. right And at the same time, you are looking to establish a relationship with the with with ah your best partner. That's your coach. that's That's your coach. And so doing all of that can be quite overwhelming, quite daunting. On the coach's end,
00:22:38
Speaker
It is in our best interest to meet the athlete at their need. Listen to what they're saying because not everyone is able to articulate what they're feeling. So you've gotta listen to what they're saying and not only hear but actually try to interpret what they're saying. right So moving on a little bit to, you know, you as a as a person. um Is there a particular aspi aspect of life at the beach that resonates with you and keeps you motivated in your role? Oh, I would say the diversity here on this campus.
00:23:24
Speaker
um is paramount. I believe in having folks, a diversity of folks to be at the seat at the table um is important. And I am Just an advocate of that, and I believe that Long Beach State, um while we are so progressive in our ways, we um we we we try really hard, especially in our athletic department,
00:24:01
Speaker
to again meet people at their need and make sure that voices are heard and that folks feel valued and that resources are available for folks to shine.
Overcoming Challenges and Leadership Growth
00:24:14
Speaker
They allowed me that. right I was personally, professionally allowed that. um Dan, I'm a i'm just a round the way kid. I really, really am there. There's nothing special ah about me. If you were to cut me, I'm still going to bleed red just like you. And um the the USA track and field gave this round the way kid that bleeds red, just like everyone else, an opportunity to lead the United States of America.
00:24:57
Speaker
a woman of color,
00:25:02
Speaker
a black woman from a mid major school, not some power five. So if I can, then others can do it too. Whatever the industry is,
00:25:25
Speaker
period. And as long as we allow folks at the table, we get an opportunity to hear different sides and we can make informed decisions on whatever it might be. Cause again, I was a walk on, I was a walk on and I must say that between Coach Andy Seith, who is the director of track and field saying, hey, give us a shot. My husband and I had the conversation. I was living in Tucson, Arizona, and he gave me a call and he said, hey, how about you coming down to Long Beach State?
00:26:09
Speaker
um My husband and I, we we talked about it. And then we said, let's take the shot. But if somebody doesn't give you that shot, right if somebody doesn't offer you that, then where will we be? yeah So I gotta to give those folks that if you will, they're around the way, student athletes, our recruits, and our community, we gotta give them a shot. right I will be dismissing everything that I am, every every place that I've come from. And so a student athlete coming in to to to be a D1 specialist, that's right
00:26:53
Speaker
whatever the sport. right At the end of the day, it's not gonna be perfect and it's not perfect here at at Long Beach State Track and Field. I would love to say that everything is rosy, but but it's not and we don't want it to be. that's right We want to be able to prepare our future leaders so that they will go and launch themselves in greatness that's right in their own communities, wherever they decide to commune. that's right and and and And so we need them to see the bitter as well as the sweet. We need to have them ah know who they are when their back is against the wall. That's when your character is revealed. That's when your integrity is is is tested.
00:27:35
Speaker
but trust and believe not every decision that I've made has been the great decision. that's right Sometimes, and I would say this, there's a great person here at Long Beach State that I i owe so much to, and that's Cindy Masner. Oh man, talking about guiding and the directing, guiding and directing. I even remember when I was being recruited from ah to another university and Cindy said, go take the interview so you'll know what it's like. So that's helpful. yeah and and And evidently she knew right exactly what I needed. that's right And here I am 12 years later.
00:28:18
Speaker
twelve years later I think about i think about my my my brother who coached me at San Diego State. He didn't just coach me, it was an array of folks that he developed. that's right and So I would love to say, aha, I was the only, yeah not the only. But all of us sweated, all of us teared. And I just remember he having us do these tremendous workouts. I remember this one particular workout. I speak of it all the time where he had me
00:28:51
Speaker
He had everybody else do a different workout, but he had me drag a tire. He goes, hey, little Tonya, today you're going to be dragging a tire around the track for for your workout. And I was absolutely offended. I'm like, dude, I'm the American record holder. I'm not doing that. And we went back and forth, back and forth. And he goes, well, if you don't, if you don't, then I'm going to have to remove you from the team. Yeah. and And I was so hot. He wasn't the head coach, so I marched over to the head coach's office at the time it was a ah gentleman, Jim Cervany. And I said, hey, coach, your your assistant, he's tripping. He's telling me if I don't drag a tire that no one else has to do, that he's going to remove me from the team. I'm your team captain. What are we talking about?
00:29:40
Speaker
And the coach, he leaned over on his desk and he said, is that your direct coach? I go, yeah, drag the tire.
00:29:53
Speaker
Okay. That's fair. But if you know anything about me, you know that that I've got to be playing. I got to be playing. So I race home. I get home. We share an apartment together and I race home and I get immediately on the phone cause I have the answer. The only answer. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Mom. Oh yeah, I called my mom and I explained to her how her son was just offensive. I couldn't believe what he was asking me to do. And I remember ah she was, she listened and she listened well. Then I go, okay, so I'm going to hang up the phone. He's going to call or he's going to get home at a particular time. And you call at that time. I'm not going to answer it. You answer it.
00:30:42
Speaker
right you And he's going to answer the phone and you tell him where to go, how to get there, all of those things. And I hang up the phone and she calls me back immediately. I'm like, mom, no, no, no, no. You need to call at this particular time. and She said, um no, that is your coach. He's taking you very far. And the best advice I have for you is to drag the tire. Do the workout.
00:31:21
Speaker
So that was very hard. That was very hard. I waited for some days. I stomped around the apartment. I was waiting for him to eat any kind of food that I had made because I knew I was going to put something.
00:31:36
Speaker
Oh my gosh, and I just remember that I came to the end of myself, which sometimes we've got to do. I came to the end of myself, I wanted to run more than I wanted to sit in the apartment. right um And so I went back onto the track days later and you know the last time people had saw me, I was ranting and raving about what I wasn't gonna do, but also I saw the tire had never been moved.
00:32:09
Speaker
So I, um, no need to have a conversation. I already know what I got to do. And so I go to, um, wow, I go to put the, the, the harness on and I just literally started dragging the tire around the track, tearing, crying, the whole nine, just upset about it all. And, and, and I, I finished and I went and I sat down against a wall and I'm still trying to gather myself and my coach, my brother comes over and he he says, um today, today you became a leader because leaders do what others don't.
00:33:00
Speaker
that has resonated with me all my life, all my life, all my life. And so how can I forget that right when an athlete comes in full of questioning or not
00:33:27
Speaker
just just full of naivety because that was a naive kid that didn't see the holistic thing. and and And so I welcome those athletes. Now, trust and believe, I don't necessarily love the challenge every day, right but I respect it because it's a part of the growth and development. Now, when we start moving on into the Olympic Games, these are people that are gonna be intentional. They're gonna be mindful. They want something. theirre theirre Their coaches, their personal coaches want something. They're agents.
00:34:08
Speaker
They want something. Oh my gosh, they're family. They want something. And so my position, you asked before, what would be my responsibility? Again, it would be to clear the pathway as best I can for them to make the seamless transition to our Olympic podium.
Supporting Track and Field Program
00:34:31
Speaker
that's That's powerful. It's amazing. at you know I think I could hear story after story and I'm sure you have a bunch of them and and I appreciate that, you know the tire. And you think about an insignificant symbol had become something so ah you know transformational, right? And to who you are today. so as we As we move in this conversation, and we and you know philanthropy is at the heart of what I do and what what we all do, really, what what what could our audience listening today you know do to help support your program?
00:35:13
Speaker
to help elevate you and your all your participants in your team to get to the next level. If if there was somebody that came up to you and said, hey, LaTanya, how can I help? what What is your response? I would say to be physically supportive.
00:35:39
Speaker
I know the knee jerk reaction to folks might say, give all the money, but the things that I've just described, they don't take money. Come to our home meets,
00:35:58
Speaker
come and meet our student athletes, hear their stories,
00:36:06
Speaker
understand where they're coming from, listen to their aspirations and their dreams and their goals. Give a hand out if you will. Um, or I should say, let me, ah pardon that. Give a hand up to their career pathway. I mentioned that Andy site said, want to take a shot? So we have student athletes that are that have wonderful um majors.
00:36:42
Speaker
they are They are engineers. um They are looking to be in graphic design. they are looking to be in nursing and all of those occupations, but they need someone to crack the door. right Just crack the door. And so it's those things. But if you are not in that capacity to do that for whatever the reasons, then you are able to give
Podcast Conclusion and Reflections
00:37:15
Speaker
monetarily. But if you don't hear the stories, if you don't know your why,
00:37:21
Speaker
then your investment is low. So I say it that way. Yeah, it's it's all about the impact. And ah and and and that's the that's the key thing we focus on in philanthropy is we we really want to help the donors understand the impact that they're making and how they're transforming the lives of really future generations, right? Because if if nobody invested in La Tanya at the moment, we we would probably not be sitting here and those generations that you've influenced was a part of that philanthropic contribution, right? sure And how many how many athletes have gone come and gone under your leadership and you know that's that's a legacy, that's amazing. So when we when we talk about philanthropy,
00:38:15
Speaker
we talk about you're changing the future generations and the future impact of people in such a way that has lasting impact and and potential growth for years to come. And so I thank you for sharing that. And so and so again, we we will continue to you know find those donors who who have a passion for track and field and and for the students and for the things that you're doing. Now, as we as we move into wrapping this up, I always, and you've alluded to a lot of this, but I always ask our guests, you know do you have a motto that you live by? Or is there something that inspired you along the way that has made you who you are? And so ah you know my personal motto is to help people learn, grow, and advance.
00:39:09
Speaker
And that's been so relevant to me in my career in higher education and and everything that I've done, right? So, and also as part of that is to create those systems for that environment, right? yeah So what is it for you? is or Is that, you know, other than pull the tire, ah what is that one ah one or two or person that influenced you or what is it that has is the fire in your belly that keeps you going day in day out? So it's actually two things.
00:39:46
Speaker
um Early on, I had actually a nonprofit organization and in Tucson, Arizona, and we um were tried or fighting childhood obesity. And it was something much like my track and field career. It it just spun off it. You know, it's kind of a cupid effect. i i i I found something and then I fell in love. It just hit me hard. So I had um a love to help. And um these were folks that maybe not necessarily um had huge goals and dreams and things of that.
00:40:31
Speaker
And so um I coined, if you will, a phrase, you don't have to be asleep to have a dream. It's all right to dream. So it it it been that. okay Then as I moved on to Long Beach State and saw what we needed to be and become at um as ah as a student athlete and what they were um aspiring to be and do. And I just kind of morphed into this whole model that our entire team knows about.
00:41:18
Speaker
It's really something. Make them say your name. Make them say your name, Dan. Make them say your name. Dan, make them say your name that you are pushing to to pursue something, something so greater than yourself that you make them say your name. I really mean that. Make them say your name. it It was a guy, his name is Kent Harris. He is a former student athlete here. He was in the design ah department and now he's done a few shows of a New York Fashion Week. Huge, huge. And it was something he um he's he he wants to be known. He wants to be known. And so he he um ah dedicated his second show in New York Fashion Week
00:42:07
Speaker
and the title was Make Him Say Your Name. wow Because he wants them yeah to say his name. on On the podium, we want folks to say our name. It doesn't have to be your individual Dan Montoya name. It can be Long Beach State, something greater than yourself. Make him say your name. Latanya Sheffield head coach. Wow. Kid from l LA. Can you believe that? That's powerful.
00:42:41
Speaker
Yes, we want them to say your name in Long Beach and USA. And, you know, we're excited for that. And, you know, this has been an awesome conversation and and i I'm excited for our listeners to hear it and to get insight about you and about your journey. And most importantly, an invitation to come and see your work and see the work of these students. and We're going to be cheering for you in Paris. ah you know We're going to be just sending our vibes um and it'll be so cool. i'm actually I have actually have to go out there soon and be passing through. but i'm going i'm gonna
00:43:24
Speaker
Send a little blessing that'll be waiting for you please when you already get there. Dan, I gotta tell you for sure. I'm coming back with a French accent. I don't i don't i don't want anybody to hate on me or anything like that. Don't even say, oh, she changed. I didn't change. I just got a French accent. I love that. I love that. So cool. Well, we're going to wrap this up, and I want to say thank you so much. That concludes another edition of At the Beach. I'm your host, Dan Montoya, Vice President for University Relations and Development, which produces this podcast. Thank you for listening, and we're going to end with a Go Beach on three. One, two, three. Go Beach.