Growing up I was raised by my mother, Ann Murray, who ensured that my brother and I were raised in a household that highly emphasized academics and athletics. My mother is a middle school principal and a former basketball player at West Virginia University. I’ve always excelled in the classroom, making honour roll each year throughout high school, and receiving awards for having the highest overall grade in some of my classes. I started playing basketball in the sixth grade; therefore I had to learn how to balance academics and athletics at a young age. When I got to high school and started taking basketball more seriously, I knew that my ultimate goal would be to receive a full athletic scholarship to play in the States. At the end of the twelfth grade I signed my letter of intent with The University of Memphis.
In university I dedicated 40+ hours/week on athletics and academics, not including studying on my own time. I’ve been a part of the Tiger 3.0 Club every semester, and have made the Dean’s List (3.5 GPA or higher) 7/8 semesters. I’ve also been apart of the Tiger Academic 30 Club, which is awarded to the top 30 student-athletes with the highest GPAs. I became a member of The University of Memphis’ Black Scholars, which is rewarded to black students that consistently excel in the classroom. In May 2018, I graduated the University of Memphis with a degree in clinical psychology and a minor in French. Upon graduation I also became a member of Magna Cum Laude, which is rewarded to graduates with an overall GPA of 3.8-3.9.
While I had great academic success in the classroom, I also experienced a lot of success on the court as well:
Freshman year:
Awarded Most-Improved Player
Sophomore year:
Sixth Man Award
Junior Year:
Selected All-Conference Team
Awarded Offensive and Rebounding Award
Selected team captain
Senior Year:
Selected All-Conference Team
Reached 1,000 point milestone
Awarded Offensive, Defensive, and Rebounding Award
Selected as team captain
The Active Scholar program would have been a great program to have when I was growing up in order to receive training specific to basketball and to be surrounded with likeminded people that are committed to my improvements both on and off the court. It is a great way to prepare future student-athletes in finding a balance between academics and athletics, especially in subjects that are considered to be more challenging. It is also gives children the opportunity to focus on academics and athletics at the same time without having to choose between the two.
Active Scholars honours and celebrates all student athletes that persevere to accomplish their dreams. We are thankful to Cheyenne for being our first 'Featured Student Athlete' and we look forward to hearing about her graduate studies and professional basketball career in the future.