Jacob Herington | Banner Lancer of the Week Cassidy Mihalko, guard for California Baptist University’s women’s basketball team, dribbles up the court against top-ranked Dixie State in the Van Dyne Gymnasium.
At California Baptist University, the motto “Live Your Purpose” can be seen on banners around campus, written in bold letters across the front of a sweatshirts and shown through the talent of women’s basketball player Cassidy Mihalko.
“My purpose is to play (basketball) for God,” said Mihalko, freshman business administration major. “I take the motto seriously.”
One way Mihalko said she lives her purpose is through community service projects. Over the holidays, CBU’s basketball teams participated in small-scale basketball camps, where they taught the game to children.
“I really enjoy working with kids and making them love basketball, just like I did when I was younger,” Mihalko said.
Mihalko, a guard for the women’s basketball team, came to CBU from Wisconsin, where she worked hard and built a solid and career for herself while in high school.
Now at CBU as a Lancer, she said she has grown in confidence and is working hard to improve.
“(Cassidy has that) competitiveness to want to get better, and I think that will make a really big difference for her,” said Jarrod Olsen, head coach of the women’s basketball team. “She wants to improve as she goes through her career and becomes a really good basketball player.”
Although Mihalko is only a freshman, her teammates said she has earned their respect.
“There are times when she steps on the court and just dominates at whatever she’s doing,” said Elise Shelton, senior public relations major and guard for the women’s basketball team. “She has those flashes of leadership and brilliance.”
While Mihalko dominates on the court, earning the Hawaii Tourism PacWest Freshman of the Week award after a great performance in a game against Notre Dame de Namur, she is also a person her teammates said they love to be around.
“She’s a really good teammate; the girls really like her,” Olsen said.
Shelton said, “Cassidy is fun to be around, really goofy, but really down-to-earth at the same time.”
Her teammates and coaches enjoy both her emerging personality and competitive determination as Mihalko continues to find her groove and live her purpose at CBU.
