B.B.A. student, Life U Women’s Track and Field member, Vice President of Dollar Sense Society

“A track of one’s own”

 

Michaela Ephraim grew up in a small town in Washington as a twin sister with an additional younger sister and two older brothers. Most of her family works in education in some way, so she followed suit in her own way by coaching. Track and field is also a big part of her story as she has developed as an athlete and a person over the course of her athletic trajectory.

On the other side of Ephraim’s personality coin, there is her interest in business and entrepreneurship that she is nourishing as well as her path as a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) student at Life University (Life U). Originally, she had explored and started on childhood education as a degree path at a different university, but it quickly became apparent that it wasn’t quite the right fit.

Couple that with the logistical nightmare of trying to start working and establishing oneself at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ephraim took some time to live at home and regroup, enrolling at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington to obtain an Associate of Arts in Business. She competed on Clark’s Women’s Track and Field team during her time there. Later she leveraged the education received there to continue her studies mostly online with Grand Canyon University before being recruited by Life U and transferring here.

“One thing I love about this school is how small the classrooms are and just how much the teachers care,” Ephraim said.

“My favorite has been sports marketing with Professor Ware. That’s what I took that last term, and I’m into sports management. I take all of Professor Ware’s classes because he’s my favorite professor.”

Ephraim has some unique ideas for how to use her newly cultivated business knowledge after graduation, in a sport education-based business. For Ephraim, her deep love of sports did not truly blossom until high school because she felt she had not been introduced to the right sport that would truly pique her interest. For her, that was cheer and, of course, track and field. Yet, if she had been able to try more sports on for size from a younger age, perhaps she could have nurtured that passion more fully. For cheer, in particular, she felt unable to continue the sport at a collegiate level due to less practice with tumbling and other required techniques.

Thus, a beautiful little seedling of a business and/or non-profit idea has begun to germinate in Ephraim’s mind. Her goal is to one day start a recreation program with a summer camp-type component where kids can try out all kinds of different sport, see what they are good at and what they are drawn to. Through a program such as this and through non-profit efforts to contribute funds to underdeveloped sports programs, Ephraim feels “blessed with a brand-new track” here at Life U, even as she recognizes that not every program is as fortunate with its facilities, equipment and more.

In an effort to increase her community involvement and impact while in school, Ephraim has signed up to serve as Vice President of the Dollar Sense Society, a Life U student club “[…] on a mission to revolutionize the way students approach finances and career development. This club serves as a hub for individuals seeking to gain a deeper understanding of financial literacy while concurrently enhancing their professional skill set,” according to the club’s Engage profile description.

This is a newer club, started by Ephraim’s friend Cory Johnson who also serves at its president. Right now, the club is just starting to get activities going, having hosted some great meetings and events so far, discussing internships, taking LinkedIn headshots and more. Ephraim continues to set herself apart as a leader in the many activities she gets involved in and takes on the hurdles as they come with grace.

 

Faces of LIFE is a story campaign that showcases members of the dynamic Life U community, including faculty/staff, students, alumni and health science professionals. Interested in being featured or nominating a candidate? We want to hear from you! Email Marketing@life.edu. Read more Faces of LIFE stories.