I went from sitting on the bench my freshman year
to being a key role on the team in my senior year.
[cheering]
I can just be what they think I already am
or I can be more than what they ever thought I could be.
[♪♪]
I didn't really think about getting a scholarship to go to college to play basketball.
It's always been something that you hear about certain girls in your area,
but you never really think, "Ah, could this really happen to me?"
[♪♪]
The coach at the time he said, "You know, it's kind of late in the process of recruiting,
if a Division One team comes offering you now, if they need a filler spot
not necessarily someone big to play a big part."
And that was hard to hear and a lot of people explain how they want to hear the truth,
but yet the truth hurts sometimes.
Candice is very competitive.
She's had that competitiveness in her since, from day one.
Since she started playing basketball at the age of five.
She's always told herself that she makes sure that she gives it her all.
Because you only have that one chance and if we lose, oh well, I gave it my all. There was nothing else.
When I got the Division One offer from Fresno State, in that moment
I thought, "Well, you're not going to be a star player."
After a lot of thought I realized
you don't want to regret it in the end.
Thinking, "What if I did go Division One?"
I wanted to try it out myself and fail on my own terms.
And then I get here.
I would see the girls playing and...whoa.
Like, the wall is right there and it's like I hit a brick wall.
[♪♪]
It made me realize
"Okay. Well, I'm not necessarily contributing during games,
so how can I do it in other ways?"
And a lot of the seniors would be in my ear saying:
"Candice, you're on the scout team but that doesn't mean you can't get better.
You can be on the scout team and make us starters better."
And so, I took that to heart so I would always try my hardest against Q, Brittany
whatever the guard was across from me and
I think in the end that helped me get better.
After a lot of tough nights of being down because you weren't performing necessarily how you wanted to,
it took a toll on me but then having the seniors behind me telling me, "Candice, Just keep going."
"It's okay," like, "it's going to get better."
It just kept me going.
Candice, she tends to be hard on herself at times. She's got a big heart
and when she does something, she goes full force.
[♪♪]
At this point she has accomplished a lot in her life, but I do believe in her and I believe that she will accomplish
bigger and better.
After Fresno State Basketball, I plan to go into a nursing program.
I did a nursing program over the summer, a CNA program, and I became a Certified Nurse Assistant.
When I was in that environment
it was just nursing and it was fun helping people and I didn't even think about basketball.
So I know once basketball is done
the transition to nursing will be fun for me.
When I first got here, being bold,
what does that really mean?
But being bold is going out of your comfort zone.
Doing things that you never thought you would be doing.
Being comfortable with being uncomfortable.
[♪♪]
Fast-forwarding to my senior year and having coaches stop and say,
"Hey, I think you're one of the best players in this league."
and things like that, it means a lot and it goes miles.
But I also know that
it didn't happen overnight.
I know who was around when it started.
It takes
fans,
family,
coaches,
friends.
They're complimenting me but not just me,
the village that's surrounding me.
[♪♪]