Introduction to a Women's Wrestling Coach and Future Teacher
Hey everyone! My name is Mikayla Chandler. I am a secondary language arts education major going into my senior year here at OU. In addition to being a full-time student, I am also in my first year of coaching wrestling. Although I am a coach on a team of boys and girls, I primarily focus on my attention on the ladies on the team. Although I chose to not wrestling in college, I spent the majority of my life around wrestling and was competitive from ages 10 to 18. I was born and raised here in Norman, so it has always been a dream of mine to obtain a degree from OU. I have one dog but would certainly love to get more. Her name is Verona and she is a Lab/Pitbull mix that showed up one day and never left. One of my major interests is in American Sign Language; I took two years in college and I wish I could afford to take more classes. I love knowing another language, it makes me feel more connected to the world. I just wish that I knew more languages so that I could effectively communicate with everyone around me without a language barrier. I also LOVE books, reading, and writing. My favorite places to be are on my couch with a good book, in a cozy library/bookstore, or in a coffee shop. Most importantly about myself, I am a preservice educator. This time next year I will be a full-fledged teacher in a classroom of my own. Although it is exhilarating, it is also terrifying. I am really excited about this course because I loved the Mythology / Folklore class I previously took. I am excited to have another go at this course because last semester was cut a tad short by a pandemic, as we all know. Anyways, I look forward to meeting everyone in the coming weeks!
Image information:
Image 1: a picture of me (Mikayla Chandler) from 2017 in a wrestling match, pinning my opponent.
Image 2: a picture of me (Mikayla Chandler) from this past summer holding my younger sister, Cloe, 11, who is going into her 5th year of wrestling and going into the 6th grade this year.
Hi Mikayla! I find it to be super interesting that you were a competitive wrestler for eight years... How did you become interested in that particular sport? I like your take on learning languages because language barriers are all to real in today's day and age and it feels so good to be able to communicate with people from different cultures and backgrounds and get to learn more about them. Also, I LOVE that you have a pitbull lab mix because I have one too!! They are so lovey and I wish people would open up their minds to the fact that most pitbulls that are properly trained aren't actually dangerous or mean!
ReplyDeleteOh, now I remember about you being a wrestler, Mikayla: I had totally forgotten about that! It's so nice to get to meet people a second time around, because this time I can really connect and remember what I'm reading here. And yay for ASL! Did you see the item in the announcements about a woman who is doing an ASL video series of Homer's Odyssey at YouTube? Here it is: such great stuff! The Odyssey in American Sign Language - link ... so that made me curious, and I just now went to look for a sign language Ramayana... check it out! Wow: I'm going to have to put this in the class announcements too. The Silent Ramayana - link. And I wouldn't have found this without your Introduction... so thank you! :-)
ReplyDeleteHello Mikayla! It's amazing that you were a competitive wrestler for so long. I was in the swimming team until freshman year in high school. I loved swimming but doing it competitively really burned me out so I have a lot of respect for people who can keep up with the amount of work you have to put in for school and sports. As a bilingual person, I think that anyone with a good amount of work can learn a new language well enough to get by and converse. Good luck this semester and have fun coaching!
ReplyDeleteHey Mikayla,
ReplyDeleteI find it amazing that you wrestled at a competitive level for 8 years. My brother wrestles so I can sort of understanding how extensive and the degree of difficulty it is to compete in that sport. One of my close friends actually has a pitbull/lab mix and they are great dogs. I personally have a westie and would not mind having another dog as well. Since you were born and raised in norman are there places you would recommend eating at?
Hi, Wesley! Yeah, I recommend eating local right now in Norman if you can help it! Thai Thai is my favorite Asian food, Tarahumara's is my favorite Mexican food, and Pennyhill is the best place to get a sandwhich. For Italian I really love Othello's. For breakfast, I love Syrup and The Diner (and Hasslers... I would also recommend Ozzy's, but they are gone now, sadly). For coffee I would highly recommend going to Cool Beans, all of their coffee is roasted by Yellow Dog (the only roastery in town!) I also LOVE The Meating Place, and Gaberino's!
DeleteHi Mikayla! That is so cool that you wrestled competitively for so long! I am from Texas, so there were not many wrestling programs at nearby highschools, however I do have some friends in the Northeast that wrestled! I am also taking ASL 1 this year! So far it has been exciting, but it was great to hear your perspective on the language. I hope you have a great semester!
DeleteHi Mikayla,
ReplyDeleteIt's really cool that you are learning ASL. I like what you said about how knowing another language makes you "feel more connected to the world".
Also, it's great that you are studying to become a teacher and it sounds like you will have a lot of interesting life experience and guidance to offer your students! I hope you enjoy it when you officially become a teacher next year.
Hi Mikayala. That is so cool that you are a wrestler! My dad wrestled for a few years in high school, but other than that, I don't really know anyone who has. I've never done wrestling as a sport, but it looks like it would be extremely difficult, and that a lot more thought and practice is put in it than one might think. I love learning languages as well! I have not taken an ASL class before, but I definitely think that would be such a great language to learn.
ReplyDeleteHi Mikayla! Wow! I think its so cool that you not only teach wrestling but also fought competitively for so long! Seems like you have a knack for teaching, i think that's amazing! btw the picture of you and your sister is adorable! I also like the name for your dog! seems like it was fate that she came to you and such a sweet story! Have an amazing semester and best of luck in all your future endeavors!
ReplyDeleteHello Mikayla!
ReplyDeleteI think that that's so cool you're planning to be a women's wrestling coach! I played volleyball through middle school and high school but I that's as far as my sportiness or athleticism goes. I don't even think volleyball requires a lot of strength, it mainly focuses on technique in my opinion so I am jealous of you! I'm wish you luck in the future as an educator and hope you inspire lots of kids! :)
Hey Mikayla!
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome that you want to be a coach, just like teaching it can be one of the most rewarding things in life. I have always wanted to coach basketball, and this is all due to having one great coach in my life, who not only taught me about sports but also about how to be a better person. I am not a big wrestling person, but it is cool to see a girl so passionate about a sport that is often seen as masculine. Keep up the good work!
Hey Mikayla!
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome how you are coaching a wrestling team. I would love to coach soccer, which I played throughout growing up, but I haven't had the opportunity to begin earning hours for my certification. It's always great teaching something you love, so I bet time flies when you are focused on your wrestling team. I also have a lab/pit bull mix. Her name is Daisy and she is the sweetest. I wish you the best for your new teaching job. It sounds like you love what you do and that is how it should be! Best of luck.
Hey Mikayla, my name is Caroline and I can't believe I'm just now coming across your blog in the 12th week of the semester, that's crazy!! I am so interested in your hobbies because I have never met anyone who is a real-life boxer before, I have only watched movies about them. I think it's super inspiring that you have implemented your interests and talents into being a coach and role model for your team. American sign language has been on my to-do list for a long time and it's inspiring to hear that you learned it in two years because languages are difficult, especially when you have to learn hand signals too!
ReplyDeleteHi Mikayla,
ReplyDeleteIt was good reading about you. Secondary language arts education major sounds like a good major. I think its awesome you love wrestled and have wrestled a lot of you life time. I wish I knew another language, it would be so cool because you can communicate and relate to more people. I hope you have a great rest of your semester!
Hi Mikayla,
ReplyDeleteI think you and I have a lot in common. For starters, I am also a senior who decided to take this class after taking the myths and folklore class and learning how awesome it was. I am interested in languages as well. I knew sign language a bit when I was younger but I am afraid I 've lost it all now. However, I speak French and am learning Spanish at the moment, so I still carry and utilize that love of language learning. I am more of a cat person than a dog person; I currently have three cats. I also really love books, reading and writing. I am particularly interested in children's and young adult fiction, and hope to become a writer in that genre one day. I enjoyed reading your intro and noticing all the similarites between us.
Good luck with the rest of the semester!
-Ann Marie
Hi Mikayla!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, it is so awesome that you are a wrestler! Second, I also love books since I'm an English major. What's your favorite novel? I'm always up for suggestions! It's also so cool that you know sign language because knowing another language is always useful. Have you found occasion to use sign language in your daily life yet? I'd be interested to hear about it if so. I hope you have a great day!
Hi Mikayla! I just recently learned all of the rules of wrestling and watched a couple matches and I must say credits to you. I was in shock most of the match because there was a lot of throwing (but I have since learned that it was because it was Olympic style). Nonetheless, you are amazing for giving those little girls someone to look up to and someone who believes in them in a predominately male sport!
ReplyDelete