A Closer Look - Season 1 (Kayla Millholland)
“Don’t be afraid to give up the good and go for the great,” is what Steve Prefontaine once said.
Senior cross country runner Kayla Millholland has given up the good and has gone for the great in her life. Greatness not only while running, but in all aspects of her collegiate career.
“I am the president of two organizations on campus,” Millholland stated. “I am the president of the Pacer Union Board and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
“The Pacer Union Board is in charge of the music and events we bring to campus. I’m also a member of Ducks Unlimited, which is a hunting organization.”
Millholland got involved early on when she was applying to be a Pacer Fanatic Coordinator and Angel Miano asked her to become even more involved.
“When I first met Kayla, it was because she came to me interested in getting involved with the Pacer Fanatics,” Miano said. “What I saw in her though was an excitement for campus life and event planning that you don’t see in a lot of students. People enjoy working with her and being around her and she has become a staple around campus.”
The senior from Hampton, Ga., competed in multiple sports, including soccer and basketball in addition to cross country. However, she chose USC Aiken for a variety of reasons.
“The campus was far enough away from home where I felt I could have a new beginning,” Millholland said. “Coach Kreuzter recruited me and the team was amazing on my visit. The campus was beautiful and the small classroom sizes were what I was looking for. I did not want to just be another number at a larger institution of higher learning.”
Over the years, Millholland has improved her times in the 5k and 6k races and is aiming for her best season of her career in 2014. However, she has used what she has learned from running in other aspects of her life.
“Running taught me that hard work pays off,” Millholland stated. “It taught me to never give up on something that you dream of having. If anything, cross country helped me with life lessons I’ve learned in college. Even when everything gets more difficult, I just need to push through it to reach the pinnacle of whatever I’m focusing on.”
Wanting to stay involved in athletics upon graduation, Millholland decided to major in exercise and sports science. She wants to attend graduate school en route to becoming a sports nutritionist.
“I took a nutrition class at USC Aiken and although I was skeptical at the start of it, I really got involved in the class,” Millholland stated. “I became very interested in it over the course of the class and even though I was slightly intrigued by it before then, I became really interested in it during the last year.”
There is no doubt that Millholland will thrive not only during her senior season, but after it as well. She has taken what she has learned from the nutrition class and has implemented it into her life.
Millholland will use what she has learned – and what she will learn in graduate school – to focus on being great in her chosen profession.
