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Hall Of Fame Spotlight - Penny Waggener
1/19/2011 12:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
It was just two years ago that 2010 UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee Penny Waggener stood 19,340 feet above the earth at the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania looking down. In 2009 she was inducted into Truman High School's Sports Hall of Fame. Now she will enter the dignified air that only twenty-three other Kangaroo student-athletes, coaches and contributors have or soon will experience.
"I am truly honored by this award, but I have to be very honest, it feels like it was such a long time ago,” she stated. Evidence backing up Waggener's feelings may be that the 2010 entering freshmen class boasts a vast majority of its students born in 1992. Waggener's playing days on the old Swinney Recreation Center basketball court concluded seven years earlier in 1985.But in this statement, it is rather clear that her reference is with regard to many experiences and achievements since leaving the campus of the `Roos. She worked at the KU Medical Center and developed a trade as a physical therapist. Next was a three year stint coaching basketball back at Truman High. This too, however, failed to scratch the itch that seemed to push her farther down what has turned out to be an enviable life's path.
A return to her physical therapy roots, this time combined with the coaching contacts she had made around the area led to the development of what today is a thriving physical therapy practice that contracts with school districts throughout the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area, providing physical therapy to children with physical/mental disabilities.
There are very fond memories of UMKC for the former Kangaroo point guard, who played during the transformation period between the program's NAIA period and the beginning of the NCAA Division-I era. Another memory that sticks out during her playing days was the transition by collegiate women to a smaller basketball. “Those were some really exciting times,” she said.
There is also a heartfelt recognition of then UMKC Women's Head Basketball Coach Nancy Norman's contributions made to a young group of still maturing young women. “She was a young woman herself at the time, which made it very easy for us to relate to,” said Waggener. “She cared enough about us to address both our physical needs on the court as well as our emotional needs off it. It was obvious to me just how much concern she had for us.”
As for her teammates, well, it started with her very first roommate, 2009 Hall of Fame Inductee Julie (Nill) Wilson and another close friend who would live with them in the years to follow off campus, Liz Daney. Great times seemed to be had by all though Waggener refuses to incriminate herself or her roommates. “We had a lot of fun together … some really great memories,” she said with a laugh.
She also attributes a great deal with regard to how far she's been able to go in her career to the things she learned in UMKC's School of Education. “Certainly, without my teaching degree from the School of Education I would have missed out on many opportunities that served as stepping stones in my life,” she said. “UMKC prepared me for much of what I have experienced. I truly had a wonderful time on that campus.”
After college and in the years leading up to the present, Waggener made a trip to Stonehenge in Glastonbury, England, where she was able to spend time practicing and earning certification in the holistic art of Reiki healing. “It seemed the more that I experienced, the more the world and all that it offered, seemed to open up to me,” Waggener lamented.
She has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Wayside Waifs, and recently (December 3 – 18 of 2010) spent time offering aid in Haiti. It was a rather turbulent period in the country as the trip coincided with the elections that were taking place. The group she was with actually had to be put up in a safe house until violence died down. “I definitely felt the unpredictability of that country,” she said.
The one time round ball wizard knows there are more adventures yet to come. However, she also humbly admits that with and many times in spite of her many exploits, her parents Ron and Paula have always been her rocks. “They have never wavered in support for me, no matter where I've been or where I might be headed,” she said. “I couldn't have asked for a better support system.” She did admit they were not particularly pleased about the Haiti trip.
As for the future of UMKC and all of its programs, Waggener seems to have little doubt of its impending success. “UMKC has always been known for its academics,” she said. “Now, with all of the campus improvements, it's really been pretty exciting and the future seems bound to hold even more.”
(This is the third of a eight-part series featuring the 2010 UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame class.)Want to attend the Hall of Fame dinner and ceremony this Friday night? CLICK HERE for more information.
