A little serendipity can go a long way. Or in the case of Vanderbilt senior and Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar of the Year finalist Kaira Brown, roughly a quarter of a mile in less than a minute.
Brown wasn’t called to track and field. In middle school, signing up for the track and field team offered a spring reprieve from physical education classes. She reasoned that running was her favorite part of soccer, her fall reprieve, so why not cut out the part with the ball?
And while she is now an accomplished 400-meter runner, she didn’t exactly set her sights on that longest of sprints. That race, which demands a blend of speed, competitiveness and stubborn will, chose her—with some help from coaches.
From unassuming beginnings, Brown seized her opportunity and, well, ran with it—all the way to Vanderbilt. Here, she has competed in the nation’s most competitive conference and challenged herself at a world-class university, from which she will soon graduate with honors as a double major in public policy studies and Latino and Latina studies. And along the way she picked up school records and the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 4×400 relay.
What began as a good way to get out of PE class grew into a journey—one that she hopes will continue with a career in public policy that helps change communities for the better.
It’s a journey now recognized by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine, sponsor of the annual Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Awards. Brown is already the sport award recipient for women’s track and field and cross country, selected from across all three NCAA divisions. She is also one of four finalists across all sports for the Female Athlete of the Year Award. Presented annually, the award named in Ashe’s honor recognizes “outstanding, young minority men and women who have distinguished themselves in their academic and athletic pursuits.” Winners will be announced before the magazine’s April 27 edition.
(Pictured above, the 4×400 team that qualified for the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships, from L to R: Haley Bishop, Taiya Shelby, Madison Fuller, Brown. Photo: Karlee Sell.)
“I think there’s just something about running for your teammates that makes it, at least for me, a lot more special and probably gives you a little extra push. I honestly think I run better with a baton in my hand.”
Kaira Brown