California Golden Bears Athletics
10/4/2021 10:08 AM | Athletics News
"Do you want to work with your hands all your life or do you want to work with your head?"
This is the question that my maternal grandfather would constantly ask me growing up, and it motivated me in all aspects of my life, specifically on the softball field and in the classroom.
My name is Anyssa Montez Barbosa. Actually, my last name should be "Barboza", spelled with a "z", but when my grandfather came to the United States for the first time, the U.S. official filled out his citizenship papers the way it sounded, changing the name of my grandfather's line forever. So, I'm Anyssa Barbosa, and I just started working in Cal Athletics as the Recruiting and Eligibility Coordinator in Compliance.
I come to Cal Athletics from my two small hometowns along the southwest border of Texas: Uvalde and Eagle Pass. My parents are both first-generation college graduates who work for the Texas public school system as a principal and special education teacher. But before my dad was a high school principal, he was a state prison warden, and I grew up moving across the entire state of Texas, much like a military brat.
Having three siblings, sports was our avenue to an education, so my sister and I spent most of our time on a softball field before I landed a softball scholarship to Panhandle State University (OPSU), a Division II school in Oklahoma. As a student-athlete, I had a passion for advocacy so I served as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Latinx leadership organization on campus. During my time at OPSU, we became the first Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the state of Oklahoma due to the efforts of our Latinx organization. This provided resources to develop hispanic-serving programs that serve Latinx students on OPSU's campus. It's still the best team I've ever been a part of.
Because I was a student-athlete, I could afford to attend law school at Texas Tech University, but I couldn't quite let go of sports. In my second year, I enrolled in a dual-degree program to get my Masters of Sport Management on top of my legal studies, and I began working with the Texas Tech football team in academic support. I enjoyed working with students and watching those athletes walk across the stage on graduation day.
Following that year, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the 2019-2020 Postgraduate Internship Program at the NCAA National Office. It was an opportunity of a lifetime, and I gained valuable professional development. After that year of chaos, COVID, and Name, Image and Likeness changes, I couldn't wait to get back to campus, finish my dual-degree program, and start working in college athletics. I joined the 2% of Latina lawyers in the U.S. this spring, and moved to California to start my career.
This access is the reason I work in higher education, and it's why I'm honored and excited to be a part of the Cal family. As the Recruiting and Eligibility Coordinator, not only do I get to work with my head, as my grandpa wanted for me all my life, but I also get to work with my heart. I hope to help so many other students attend Cal so that they too can have access to amazing opportunities during and after college. ¡Vamos Osos!
Anyssa Barbosa is a Recruiting & Eligibility Coordinator for Cal Athletics.
