When you're a part of four state championship 4x400 meter relay teams and won individual gold in the 400 meters, schools will come calling. That was the case for Plantation American Heritage senior Deja Parrish. In addition to those accolades, Parrish also finished runner-up in the quarter mile two times, and was an integral part of one of the most dominant teams in the state. Over two dozen schools reached out to her throughout the recruiting process. She says it was nice knowing she caught their eyes, the visits were fun, but after several weeks the hard part came of narrowing down the list. Her finalists Tennessee, Arizona State, UCLA, and Clemson. Each program had their own appeal to Parrish.
University of Tennessee - "I felt Coach Couch was a good coach. I had a connection with her when she did a home visit."
Arizona State University - "Coach Ronnie was there for me throughout my junior season. He would still write me on Facebook and tell me to just believe in myself when I felt like that year was going down the drain. He had faith in me."
LSU - "As soon as I got the offer I though why not take a look at the school that produced over 50 NCAA champions".
UCLA - "They were my dream school since 5th grade and I would eventually want to live in California."
Clemson - "The coaches were my absolute favorite out of all of my schools and they have an amazing nursing program."
The final decision was a two horse race with Clemson outdoing UCLA. The Tigers commitment to education and her desired major along with a tradition-rich athletic program sealed the deal in sending the senior to the state of South Carolina.
"At the other schools it seemed it would be difficult being a student athlete, major in nursing and having tto do clinical hours. They discussed alternatives like Kinesiology, but at Clemson my coaches believed in me and told me I could do it. On the athletic front, Clemson is also about to blow up. We have runners coming in that are going to help out tremendously in getting a national title. We are definitely under the radar now but soon that's not going to be the case."
Parrish calls the opportunities at Clemson once in a lifetime. When talking about the Tigers she raved about the facilities and the resources that will help her elevate her performances to the next level.
"I am going to break the NCAA record for the 400 meter run and I would like for our 4x400r relay at Clemson to also break the NCAA record. Like I said, people really have no idea. It's going to be a show to watch. I'm also looking forwarded to meeting new people and friends. Another thing I am looking forwarded to is training with Rick, which is our strength and conditioning coach. He was Brianna Rollin's strength coach and she now has the American Record in the 100 hurdles. Those are the plans and with all of my resources at Clemson there should be no doubt that it will happen."
Personal Bests
- 100 Meter Dash - 11.77
- 200 Meter Dash - 23.94
- 400 Meter Dash - 53.20
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