Alisha Bass: Big City to Bighorns

May 3, 2019
head portrait of a woman
Alisha Bass (Photo by Flood Marketing)

There was once a time when Alisha Bass of Sydney, Australia, could not have found Wyoming on a map. But Wyoming could find her, particularly the coaches with UW’s Cowgirl soccer team. They knew Australia produced exceptional soccer players, and they found Bass playing center midfield for the New South Wales Institute of Sport. UW made her an offer Bass says was too good to refuse. “I thought I may as well give it a go,” she recalls.

That was in 2013. Bass calls playing for the UW soccer team an amazing experience. “The facilities, gear and amenities we got were incredible,” Bass says. “I enjoyed practicing and playing with some of my best friends under coaches who cared a lot about our development and against great competition.” She says that the training and games were mentally challenging at times. In the end, the lessons she learned about teamwork, persistence and hard work are things she will carry through her whole life.

Bass was a team captain, a member of both UW’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

She double majored in finance and business management, graduating in 2018. She chose her majors because she’d always done well in math and English, and when her mother suggested she study business, it seemed like a good fit.

The 8,300 miles between Laramie and Sydney didn’t stop Bass from visiting her family every Christmas and summer. Her parents also traveled to Laramie twice to watch her games. “They were supportive and excited and understood how great an opportunity this was for me,” she says. “It was easier for them to deal with, knowing how much fun I was having. And they love Laramie.”

Bass didn’t plan to play soccer professionally and wanted to remain in the U.S. for a time after graduating. She interviewed at a UW career fair with EMIT Technologies Inc. and was hired as the executive assistant for that Sheridan-based company. One day she might become a financial coach, helping people understand their finances better. For now, she’s enjoying Sheridan. She’s made friends, including other UW graduates, plays soccer at the YMCA for fun and loves the Bighorn Mountains.

“Being a city girl from Sydney, I’d never even been on a hike before,” Bass says. “Now I love the outdoors and am so thankful to the lovely people in Wyoming for being so accommodating and willing to support our teams. Without that, I never would have had this opportunity.”

 

 

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Bureau of Mines Building, Room 137
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Phone: (307) 766-2929
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