Hall Of Fame Spotlight - Sonya Ahmed
1/20/2011 6:28:00 PM | General, Athletics
by Dan Stroud
Healthy Mind, Healthy Body; it's the formula former UMKC women's pole vaulter and 2010 Hall of Fame inductee Sonya Ahmed attributes to her entire career as a student-athlete. Not only did she set records and perform at a high level as part of the university's track and field program, but she also managed to squeeze in enough time to complete a medical degree as well.
"I really could not have done one without the other,” Ahmed said. “To accomplish what I have, it really must be attributed to strong mental and physical health. Being out there on the track with my Discman (prior to the ipod) CD player, working out was a great way to escape the responsibilities I had in the class room.”
At the same time, she had many six and seven hour bus trips on which she was able to nail down a great deal of study time. “I had to learn a great deal of discipline to make both things work,” she said. “Essentially it was about separation. When I was on the track, it was all about that and nothing else and it was the same way in the classroom.”
But Ahmed was careful not to allow anyone to think she received, or even expected to receive any kind of special treatment. She valued her time as part of a team.
"I was the only one on the team in medical school, and so there were some accommodations that had to be made just for me,” she said. “But I made sure that it was clear to my teammates that I was not looking for any kind of special treatment. I was, again, very much in love with that team and the team concept.”
One piece of 'special' treatment she claimed was not being able to practice with everyone else at 3:30 p. m. each after noon. As it turned out, she would have to get up at 5:30 a.m. to get her 'special' workout in. For most, working out so early in the morning might feel more like punishment, but that was never the case for Ahmed.
"I never asked the coaches to give me special accommodations,” she said. “In the end, I think my teammates understood the sacrifices I was making and never saw me as someone looking for any special advantages.”
There are currently seven universities in the United States, including UMKC' s School of Medicine, that offer the grinding curriculum included in a six-year medical degree. Such programs have an approximate dropout rate 20 to 30 percent. “It really is a grueling process, you really have to want it,” Ahmed said.
Today, instead of pushing herself over tall buildings, the Kangaroo Alum is a faculty member at the University of Texas in Houston. Her major skill set is as a foot and ankle specialist with an emphasis on sports injuries.
While at UMKC, Ahmed, a resident of Prairie Village when she chose to attend, said she was required to live in the student dormitories during her freshman year. At that time, this was not an experience most students of the university would ever realize.
"I can't say enough about my on campus experience,” she said. “Through my time on campus and on the track, I literally made many lifelong friends. I can really see the importance of expanding the student experience on campus that is now happening. It was an important experience for me and I am certain it will be good for students who enroll now and in the future.”
Her parents, Dr. Nahed Ahmed, her mother, and her father Dr. Mahmoud Ahmed, who once taught at UMKC, always wanted their children to become medical doctors. She and her brother Tim both completed their M.D.'s at the university, fulfilling what had over time evolved into the entire family's dream.
"I think it's really important to understand your priorities, and I'd be remiss if I didn't add that the support system afforded me through my parents, my coaches, and the friendships that I made at UMKC made all the difference there and in the years that have followed,” Ahmed said.
Sage wisdom indeed, but the Kangaroo vaulting star had a bit more to offer. “There's something to be said about wanting to be an athlete and there's something to be said about wanting to be a brainiac; I wanted to be both,” she said. “Ironic or not, in the end, using both ambitions against the other, in many ways has helped me to secure these things that have been so important in my life, and that's pretty cool.”
(This is the fifth of a eight-part series featuring the 2010 UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame class.)
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