My name is Jackie Buzaid. I am a so excited to be a freshman at the Mount. I looked at many schools but decided that the Mount was the place for me when I came here in February to compete for a full tuition academic scholarship. It was on that trip that I fell in love with the school. I felt at home, everyone was so nice, the campus so beautiful.
I was always interested in sports as a child and played many,
but when I was in middle school I narrowed it down to tennis, basketball and
track. In high school, I played and was
a captain of my tennis, basketball and track teams. But my true passion was
always basketball.
During my 7th grade middle school basketball
season, my ability as a basketball player was beginning to get recognized and
my parents were told numerous times that I should join an AAU team and train;
they started looking into it when tragedy struck my family. My dad, a Mount Alum, had an MRI during my
last game for my 7th grade middle school team – he thought he tore
his rotator cuff, the results showed a massive cancerous tumor. After a few weeks and many tests we
discovered that he had Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. My families’ focus for the next three years
was to get my dad healthy again. There
was no time or energy for AAU Basketball but I was able to train at a local church.
That training became my outlet. In April
of 10th grade I was finally able to join an AAU team. I tried out for a few and decided that I
really wanted to play for Coach Leon Martin.
Thankfully, he took me on his team.
I played one year for him with the Silver Bullets and one year for him
with the Long Island Lightning. During
my high school basketball career, I played for Centereach High School.
When I visited in February I went up to the grotto to say a
prayer for my dad and my cousin Nick, also a Mount alum who lost his battle
with Leukemia in 2010. I knew that the Mount was the place for me. I am so
excited and thankful for the opportunity to play for the Mount.
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