Women Making A Difference On And Off The Field For SDA

While Fitzgerald and Kaelin have helped cultivate a sisterly dynamic amongst the beach volleyball team, another pair of women’s student-athletes within Sun Devil Athletics have created their own legacy of leadership and athletic accomplishments.

Izzy Redmond and Juliette Boyer are both seniors competing for the Sun Devil Gymnastics team. They are also co-presidents of the Black Student Athlete Association (BSAA) at ASU. Redmond said one of the primary purposes behind the BSAA was to establish a sense of community.

“What we wanted to do was create this safe space for black student-athletes to come together, have experiences, connect with the community and kind of just build that,” Redmond said. “And, while we’re doing that, we give them a platform to make change and uplift them to use their voice and help support the ASU community.”

Boyer added that another important element of the BSAA is to encourage support from everyone willing to lend it.

“??It’s really just a place to advocate for not only Black student-athletes, but their allies as well. And just educate people on different experiences, different perspectives and really interact with our community and engage them in something that’s really important. Hopefully we can make some positive change in our community and maybe outside of our community as well,” Boyer said.

EmpowHER, SAAC, and BSAA are just a few of the places where ASU’s student-athletes are making their voices heard and presence felt. And because of the passage of Title IX 50 years ago, there are plenty of women leaders who will continue to not only make a difference in sports, but in our community as well.