Sammeika Thomas makes it work at Miles College

SAMMEIKA THOMAS
6-2 FORWARD, SENIOR
HOMETOWN: BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
TRANSFER: RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

Senior forward juggles parenting, school, work and basketball

FAIRFIELD, Alabama - When she's not rubbing off a screen, she's screening passengers. When not picking up her teammates with a solid season, she's picking up her kids and making sure they are taken care of. Such is the life of Sammeika Thomas, Miles College's 6-foot-2 senior forward.

Thomas, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's reigning Player of the Year, is doing it all. She's a fulltime student, a TSA passenger screener at the Birmingham Airport and a basketball standout – all while raising two small children on her own.

"It's not really hard for me because I'm a very motivated person," Thomas said. "I know that I have to work in order for my kids to survive. I also understand I have to finish school to earn the money that I want to make, or have the career that I want to have. So it's really not hard balancing it. My job helps me a lot. My coaches help me a lot, and my teammates. So it's not very hard as people would think. But it's very tiring."

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