Azella Perryman 05' Fear - Find your "Happy"

Fear will only get you so far...…….
Azella Perryman,  Caviar National Catering Operations Lead at Square

So…I’ll be the first to admit – I’ve spent the majority of my life living in fear. Fear that I won’t succeed. Fear that I WILL succeed and then people will expect that of me all the time. Fear that I wouldn’t live up to expectations. Fear that at some point people would realize I’m winging it. Fear that I’ll disappoint the people who believe in me….And that fear has driven me to do some pretty great things, get into pretty great schools and companies. A healthy dose of fear is what helps us survive, so I’m not advocating for it to be banished completely.
But at some point, in the last couple of years,  I started to realize that I was climbing the proverbial ladder to some distant nebulous goal of ‘success’.  I hadn’t really defined myself. Despite my ‘accomplishments’ (the names on my resume, the schools I’d gone to, the companies I’d worked at – all the things that generally people would point to and say I’d ‘succeeded” in life), I wasn’t really striving towards MY version of happy. And then I realized I had no idea what actually made me happy. So I started wondering what exactly was driving me to choose the jobs, relationships, and lifestyle that I was pushing myself towards.
The more I read, talked to people, (even went on a silent meditation retreat to find that inner voice)…the more I realized that the decisions I was making weren’t based on the biggest, best, possible future I could imagine…it was me subconsciously running from some terrible yet-to-occur possible future where I was socially shunned, broke and a complete failure. Or, it was me being paralyzed by the idea that I’d been given so much that if I didn’t do something GREAT and worthy of all of these blessings (i.e. you got into HBS – you HAVE to go run some Fortune 500 company or start a non-profit to help a million people or else you should have let someone else who wanted to be a game-changer have that spot!), I’d be wasting my life.
Which, lets be honest – isn’t cute. It’s not very ‘game-changer’-ish to admit to yourself that you’re not living on purpose…you’re just scared of messing up.I took pretty drastic measures to try and figure out my happy – I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that for everyone. But what I would say is it’s probably not a bad idea for anyone considering Bschool…or who’s finished Bschool and are on that ‘real life career path’ now to stop for a minute and question your own motives.
Fear is healthy to a certain point. But Fear will only get you so far. And then…you kind of have to say F it and start listening to that little voice inside that was there all along that you’ve been ignoring that’s been trying to tell you to go left when the rest of the world is telling you everyone is going right and that you should follow the crowd because it’s safe over there.
I think us MBA-types sometimes lose respect for our intuition. We over-rationalize our way into the roles that “make sense”. But sense is usually based on the life we THINK we’re SUPPOSED to lead, not on the life that would allow us to be the biggest version of ourselves. I’m not saying quit your job tomorrow because it doesn’t wake you up jumping out of bed for joy every morning. And I’m not saying don’t apply to the highest-ranked most prestigious b-school you can because you know they don’t have a major in what you want to do for your life purpose.
There are choices we make because we have responsibilities in life and the need to pay the bills is real. But. Some of the happiest people I know are happy because they took the plunge, got real about what THEIR happy looks like, despite what the “successful MBA life” looks like, and found a way to handle responsibilities their own way.
Close your eyes and rebel against your everyday version of success. Think about what decisions you’d make (what school you’d apply to, what job you’d take, what relationships you’d choose) if you weren’t afraid, if you were focused on YOUR version of happy. Think about what YOUR happy really is. Who knows. You might surprise yourself.
 

    

Jillian Harmon - chats with fans, wins Italian Cup, has birthday

In the video above Jillian answers questions from a few fans (Jillian speaks English, fans Italian subtitled)

Jillian's Ragusa  team won the Italian Basketball Cup, an annual professional competition during the A1 League season. Passalacqua Ragusa outscored Allianz Geas S.S.Giovanni 77-61 to win 2018/19 Cup title. They dominated the whole game starting with a 22-14 lead. Ragusa reached 40-25 advantage at the halftime and had 13-point difference with 10 minutes to go. Dearica Hamby (190-F-93, college: Wake Forest, agency: LBM Management) was named MVP of the game as she nailed 26 points. Jillian Harmon (185-PF-87, college: Stanford, agency: LBM Management) scored 15 and Chiara Consolini (186-F-88) added 13. Brooque Williams responded with 13 points in the losing effort. Giuditta Nicolodi (185-F/C-95, agency: SPORTlab Agency) netted 11, Kalis Loyd (188-G-89, college: Lamar, agency: ProDep Management) posted 10 and Sophie Brunner (185-F-95, college: Arizona St.) ended up with 9.

 

Had a Birthday this month!                                                                Jillian decided to run a triathalon
                                                                                                            this past summer

 

Weekend Plans With WNBAer/ESPN Analyst Chiney Ogwumike

CHINEY OGWUMIKE is a woman of many hats, balancing the roles of a WNBA Connecticut Sun Forward, WNBPA VP and a full-time analyst for ESPN, all at just 26 years old. While some players may use their off days during the season to rest and recover, Ogwumike’s starts hers with an hour commute to ESPN’s Bristol campus at 3:30am ET. “I only live my life according to 24 hours, that’s what helps me keep everything straight. It's a challenge, but it's one of those things that I take the same mindset to being an athlete and being prepared and giving it my all.” Ogwumike found time in her busy schedule to talk to THE DAILY about what was on her docket for the NBA All-Star Weekend. 

BIG WEEKEND: Friday morning is the NBA Tech Summit. Then we have the celebrity game, which I’m very excited about, and that's pretty much my ESPN hat, being an analyst for the celebrity game. Saturday morning, I have a Bleacher Report panel that I'm doing in honor of Black History Month. After that, I’m going to the NBA Africa luncheon. I've been on a lot of trips with NBA Africa; I've been to Rwanda with them, Kenya and Nigeria. Then, I will attend the Saturday night festivities with all the fun All-Star competitions. I'm going to use it as a networking opportunity. Then on Sunday, I’m actually not even able to stay for the game. I fly out first thing in the morning at 6:00am and I'm working in the studio as the women's college basketball host with games at 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00. Then at 7:00, when the All-Star Game is, we'll be having our ESPN NBA radio show, and I'll be hosting that.

BALANCING ACT: I'm pretty lucky because both careers happened when I was in Connecticut, playing for the Connecticut Sun and also working for ESPN. I guess you could say it's convenient for me to do both. But I'm not gonna lie: It's a grind and it's really hard. During the WNBA season, I'm with my team and then on my days off, instead of resting, I’ll drive to ESPN and go and be on their shows, covering the NBA, the latest news, all that stuff. They've really allowed me to share my voice, which I'm excited about. I'm so glad that they chose to invest in me, because it's a gamble in a way. I know I'm credible because I know what I bring to the table, but a lot of people question women's roles in sports. Those are stereotypes that I'm really excited to help break down. I just feel blessed and fortunate, which is why I'm trying to grind so hard to show them that, 'Hey, your investment in me is worth it.'

GLOBETROTTER: If I have time, the first thing I did when the season was over was I went back to Nigeria to reconnect with my family. And then I even went to South Africa for my cousin's wedding, hung out in Cape Town for a little bit. If I have weeks on hand or if I need to decompress for real, I love to travel. I'm already trying to plan for next time. I have African heritage, so I try to sort of explore that area. I'm thinking about going to Ghana, but the more I think about it I'm actually going to try to go to Zanzibar, which is probably one of the most beautiful places on earth.

                         

 

Aumnae Playing in Australia, Europe, Asia

Australia:

Brittany's team, the Perth Lynx was eliminated in the semifinals by the Canberra Capitals. Brittany had 10 points and 19 rebounds in the game.

The Perth Lynx Coaches’ award went to Brittany McPhee after her impressive first season in the WNBL, where she averaged 13.61 points, 6.87 rebounds and 1.83 assists per game.

McPhee had her breakout game with 32 points in a win over the Townsville Fire in round 2.

IN CASE YOU MISSED KAYLA'S STORY


Kayla Pedersen Set To Retire

Jayco Rangers import Kayla Pedersen will play her final WNBL game this weekend after announcing her retirement.The 29-year-old, who last season was crowned the WNBL’s Robyn Maher Defensive Player of the Year, is returning home to America to start the next chapter of her life after getting engaged to partner Nathan last month.

“It’s time for a new adventure. It was perfect timing this summer, I ended up buying a place in Arizona, met an amazing guy Nathan, he came over here and proposed, so we’re going to travel a bit, start a family and I feel like God is calling me to something else now,’’ she said. 

 

“I have no clue how it (her final game) is going to feel. I just want to have fun with the girls because that’s what it’s all about and the relationships you’ve built.” “Rachel (Jarry) was like “this week’s for Kayla” and I hate attention but it’s going to make it special. There’s going to be a lot of tears, a lot of thankfulness but it’s time, I’m ready.” 
Pedersen first played for the Rangers in 2013-14 before competing in the WNBA and winning a championship in Italy. She returned for a second stint in season 2017-18.She says Dandenong, and Australia, will always hold a special place in her heart.“Being at Dandenong has been so special. The organisation has taken care of me, they care about the person too, to have that support has been amazing. And being in Melbourne and Australia, I love the culture, the breakfast and coffee is the best thing ever, having church friends and all that it was just kind of perfect that I had a life here as well, so that makes it even harder to say goodbye, but even more special.”

Pedersen says she’s glad the final game of the home-and-away season is at home so she can say goodbye to the Jayco Rangers fans. “One of the best times has been getting to sign autographs after the game and talk to people. The fans never give up on us, I’ve always felt support from them, no criticism, nothing, over the years. It’s really great to have a home game, be on this court again to give my cheers to the fans.” “It’s perfect.”

Europe, Asia, Africa

Erica McCall is playing for Atomorenu in Hungary. Her team is tied for 2nd place and she is averaging 13pts and 6.9rbs per game.

Bri Roberson is playing for Araski in Turkey. Araski is in 7th place and Bri is averaging 7.5pts per game.

 

  

Amber Orrange is playing for Maccabi Raanano in Israel. Her team is in 8th place and Amber is averaging 11.4pts and 4.4 assists per game

Cissy (Alissa) Pierce is still with Goettingen in Germany. Her team is tied for 7th place. Cissy is averaging 8.8 pts and 3.6 rbs per game.

Christin Hedgpeth ('94) Promoted to WNBA COO

Christin Hedgpeth Promoted to WNBA Chief Operating Officer




NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2019 – The WNBA announced today that Christin Hedgpeth has been promoted to WNBA Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately.  Hedgpeth had been serving as the league’s interim COO since October 2018 and will continue to oversee WNBA strategy, business development and marketing functions.  She will report directly to WNBA Interim President Mark Tatum.

“Christy is an effective strategic leader and well-deserving of this promotion to COO,” said Tatum.  “With her strong experience in sales and marketing, Christy will continue to play a key role in our efforts to build more corporate partnerships, expand our fan base and grow the WNBA business.”

Hedgpeth previously served as Vice President, Team Marketing and Business Operations (TMBO) for the NBA, consulting with WNBA and NBA teams where she provided strategic support to WNBA teams in ticket sales, sponsorship and marketing, while also helping NBA teams drive their youth basketball and overall branding initiatives at the team level.  During her tenure in this role, WNBA team sponsorships grew nearly 30 percent.

“It has been a true privilege to collaborate with WNBA and NBA teams in TMBO,” said Hedgpeth.  “I am inspired by the extraordinary women who play in the WNBA and by the deep commitment our organization and owners have to the game.  It is incredibly energizing to have the opportunity to continue to evolve the WNBA brand together with our players, teams, and corporate partners.”

Prior to joining the league in 2014, Hedgpeth held a series of leadership roles with Under Armour, Spalding and Russell Athletic, where she was responsible for business strategy, P&L management, and brand marketing initiatives.

Hedgpeth was a starter on Stanford’s 1992 National Championship team before playing three seasons in the American Basketball League (ABL) for the Seattle Reign after she helped launch the league as Director of Player Development. A native of Thomasville, North Carolina, Hedgpeth earned her undergraduate degree at Stanford University and her MBA from Duke University.