BOWIE, Md. - Every Thursday, Bowie State University Department of Athletics will spotlight one student-athlete in wake of COVID-19 pandemic that forced CIAA to suspend fall competition until the spring of 2021. This week's spotlight will feature senior
Oladia Menchaca—a 5-foot-6 setter on the Volleyball team—from Largo, Maryland.
Menchaca began to play volleyball at the age of 12—when she searched for summer camps—with her father. They ended up settling for a volleyball camp. Menchaca went, enjoyed it, and never stopped playing since then. "Volleyball is a fun sport, and I enjoy the people," she said. I'm grateful for the people that I met along the way, and the skills that I learned are good skills to have."
As a standout player at Largo High School, Menchaca played one year of junior varsity and three years of varsity. Menchaca earned individual accolades such as Most Valuable Player and hustle award and showed her ability to be a great teammate—by acquiring a team player award her senior year.
The coaches at Bowie State noticed her skills, character, and intangibles and began to recruit her. In her three years at the university, Menchaca has become a valuable asset for the program.
"Oladia is the true definition of a student-athlete on and off the court," head coach
Zaronda Watson said. "She is the type of player who is willing to do anything for the betterment of the team without a single complaint. From her freshman to senior year, she has filled critical roles during critical times and has excelled every time."
Alongside playing volleyball, Menchaca served as the Bowie State student-athlete advisory committee vice president for two years, and now is in her second term as the president. She says she has also enjoyed her three years at Bowie State. She credits the school for her ability to find herself and her true family.
"What I love most about Bowie State was that I love the sense of community and family," Menchaca said. "I love the fact that we all can put each other onto certain things. I love that we support one another. We look out for one another, even if we don't even know each other."
In a phone interview, Menchaca discussed what she did in quarantine this past summer, what the team is doing now to prepare for the upcoming season, her future goals, and more.
This is a weird time for fall sports athletes. What are you guys doing at the moment? What's the plan?
We are going to start training on the 15th. We're going to be doing workouts and basically, get ourselves in shape before the spring season comes around. But, so far, things have been pretty good. I'm still trying to fill out the medical paperwork, send over my insurance, and try to make sure I'm medically cleared to play—before I step on the court. So far, it's been good.
In the summertime, what did you do during the quarantine? Did you still try to find ways to work out?
Oh yeah. The most I've done during quarantine was workout. I worked out every day and mostly focused on cardio, bodyweight, and circuits. It helped me drop a little weight and tuned up my body. I even tried doing some yoga during the quarantine. I thought that was exciting. Yeah, just getting myself right mentally.
Tell me about your experience of playing at Bowie State. What do you hope to accomplish before you graduate?
Before I graduate, my goal is to shine in the playoffs, or just win a ring. Of course, I want to be able to make history within BSU volleyball. I enjoyed my three years at Bowie, and this one is the fourth. I learned a lot. I had a lot of ups and downs. I met new people, and I love my teammates. Last season, we were starting to make history by making it to number four in the playoffs. According to my coach, we haven't gotten that far since the '80s. It's been a long time. I thought that that was exciting. I think we accomplished a lot. I want to continue that legacy and hopefully try to win a ring.
How would you feel if COVID is still a significant issue in the spring, and the CIAA decides to cancel all fall athletic competition for the year?
I think that would suck, just thinking about it. I don't really think about that. No, honestly, because I remember when it first happened, it started with Virginia State. We found out there was an article talking about canceling fall sports. I was thinking, "You know what? This is great. That means I can work part-time and make money. Save up for my own place and do what I want to do." But, then, they told us it was going to be in the spring-- and we were just like, "Okay, we're just going to have our season in the spring, and it's going to be a short season, but whatever."
I want to be around my teammates, even if we just practice or do a small championship game. I'll be cool with that. But canceling the entire thing? I would be like, "dang," if I knew this would be the last time, I would've gone harder last season for real. I never thought about that. Dang.
Are you and your teammates itching to play?
Yeah. We have a group chat right now, and there was a time when they wanted to link up, but I had started working at Target. Lately, I've been working a lot, so I'm at work every time they want to meet up. Every time I talk to them, I get so excited, and I'm like, "Damn, I want to meet them." I can't wait to start training. So we can bond and get to know each other because there's a lot of new girls this season. We have to go through that whole "getting to know each other" thing over again. But it's a lot of fun.
What are your plans for the future? Do you want to continue to play volleyball?
This will be my final year playing volleyball competitively. I want to focus on my creative career. I'm a visual artist, a dancer, and a choreographer. My goal is to first graduate with my bachelor's and then go to graduate school to pursue a master's in fine arts and MSA. I want to become a professional artist, a professional performer, a professional artist—and get my artwork out to the world.
What do you love most about being an artist and a dancer?
I love that I can express myself and show my love for performing. I love how happy I am when I'm on stage or creating because I'm passionate about it. That's just a big part of who I am. Yeah, I rather do that for the rest of my life than make money doing something that I hate.
Do you dance stuff on the side now?
Yes. I am a dancer for a friend of mine who sings. I've been dancing in video shoots, and I've been taking pictures. Actually, I have a rehearsal today. I just decided to go.
What are the responsibilities of being the Bowie State student-athlete advisory committee president?
Well, actually, SAAC is bigger than just Bowie State. We not only represent our schools but the entire CIAA—where you pretty much are the voice of the student-athletes. What happens? Let's say if student-athletes have issues with their coaches or professors, they come to us, and we voice it out to our SAAC advisor and the athletic department—and we get that taken care of. What we mostly started doing was host events dedicated to student-athletes. We do events related to sports and community service. And we just have fun. As student-athlete leaders, we represent the entire athletic department. We represent the student-athletes, and we represent CIAA.
Alright, last question for you: How confident do you feel about your team's chances of winning this year?
I feel pretty confident. My coaches did some heavy recruiting, and there's a lot of talent. I haven't seen the new girls play yet, but I can tell there will be some great talent. I'm excited. I have hope and confidence that we'll make it far this season.
