Senior Spotlight: Miranda Cada (Women's Volleyball)
Major: Special Education
What are your plans after graduation? I will be graduating early in December. I plan to move to Florida with my family, get a job as a teacher, and eventually would like to open up my own therapeutic day school for adults with special needs.
What is your most memorable/best academic experience at AU? My most memorable academic experience at AU was getting a 4.0 GPA during my time at AU, as well as passing my state exams on the first try in order to get my teaching license!
What is your most memorable athletic moment at AU? My most memorable experience at AU was going to the NCAA Elite 8 tournament with the volleyball team. This experience was so awesome and it was really cool being able to travel with my team and enjoy our accomplishments together.
Other than the sport(s) you play, what other sports activity are you good at? I like to really do whatever my friends are doing. I like all sports and think its fun to give them all a try. Other than that, I like to just workout on a daily basis and stay as active as I can!
Outside of sports, what is your favorite hobby or activity? My favorite hobby outside of sports is to hang out with my twin brother who has an intractable seizure disorder and autism. He is a light in my life and constantly puts a smile on my face. I also really enjoy home decorating and thrifting items to paint/redecorate, and then resell!
What is your favorite meal in the cafeteria? I actually have never eaten at the cafeteria! But, from other's experiences, I have heard that the ice cream machine is one of the best places to visit while in there!
What AU faculty or staff member had the greatest impact on you and why? I have truly enjoyed all of my teachers throughout my classes. I would say the few faculty members that have had the biggest impact on me are my special education teachers/faculty, Pam Garriott, Kathleen Bradley, and Lisa Moore. These amazing ladies made me feel so welcome and I knew that I could go to each of them for anything. They are all amazing teachers as well and I enjoyed being in every one of their classes.
My volleyball coach,
James Seitelman, also had a huge impact on me during my time at AU! He took a chance on me when I was transferring in from another college, and really made me feel like a part of the AU family.
What do you enjoy most and least about practice? The thing I enjoyed most about practice was just being able to see all of my teammates faces! We were one big family and it was always really fun being able to catch up with one another and joke around. I also really enjoyed just being able to play all the time and engage in lots of situational exercises!
Do you have any pregame rituals? Our pregame rituals consisted of jamming in the locker room before games; always trying to have my hair braided the same way, and our teams amazing dance offs with one another!
What advice would you give to underclassmen at AU? I would say, to not take anything for granted. I would have never expected that my senior year would look like this. It's life, and it is in nobody's control. But time sure does fly by so fast, so really cherish all the time you have. I learned this advice at a really young age with my brother. I constantly try to remind myself to always be thankful for what I have in life. There are so many people in life who struggle day to day to just do simple tasks, and so just be really grateful that your able to get up every day, go to school, and play the sport that you love.
If you had to listen to one song on repeat forever, what would it be and why? I don't really have a favorite song. I like Hip-Hop/Rap, as well as all the throwback songs. I wouldn't be able to pick one song to listen on repeat forever because there are too many good ones!
What is something that people may not know about you but should? A lot of people probably don't know that I have a twin brother with special needs. I'm in the Special Education because of him and I truly just enjoy helping people. Life is too short and I want to try to leave the biggest impact I can before my time is up. I want every child/adult with a disability to know that they are loved, welcomed, and that they are truly an inspiration to not only me but many others. It really makes me think about how lucky I am to live the life that I am living, and that I am able to help others who are less fortunate than me and hopefully make an impact on their lives.
If you could spend an hour each with three people (past or present), who would you choose and why? If I had an hour each with three different people, the first person I would choose would be my Nana. She was such an inspiration in everyone's life and I miss her so much. I would just want to see her again and tell her I love her. She always lived by the quote "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all." I remind myself of this all the time and try to keep her memory close to my heart.
The second person I would choose would be Michael Jackson. The reason I would want to meet him would be because I really loved him music growing up, and I think it would just be really fun to hang out with him for an hour.
The third person I would choose would be Kevin Hart. I think he is just hilarious and I would love to spend an hour with him. My stomach would probably kill after hanging out with him just from laughing so much.
