Saints should tank, get a top-level draft pick this offseason
November 6, 2012Prep roundup for Week 10 football action
November 6, 2012
The typical day in the life of Clark Atlanta University student Keierica Howard is an adventure – that’s putting it mildly.
That’s because the former Terrebonne High School standout and Houma native is juggling the life of student, the life of an athlete and also the dream of becoming a widely known musician.
She said it’s a tough act to juggle with just 24 hours in a day. She said so while enjoying lunch this past Wednesday – the only break she had in that particular day.
“It’s really hard to do,” Howard said with a laugh. “I’d be lying if I said anything else. But I don’t even really think about it anymore. It’s all sort of on a schedule, so it’s more like, ‘OK, I’m going to do this at a certain time,’ or, ‘I’m going to do that at a certain time.’ When you’re busy, you never remember that you don’t have the time to do something because you’re absorbed in it and are too busy making time.”
Start with volleyball – that’s where the majority of Howard’s day goes.
Howard said she picked up a volleyball for the first time in eighth grade. Unlike others her age, she didn’t play organized ball before that time.
“I didn’t play anything,” she said. “I just went straight to, ‘Ooh I want to be on the volleyball team. I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I had no pregame and no practice before joining.”
Howard admits the early days were a bit rough and the more experienced kids got the upper hand in her earliest days.
But that didn’t last long.
She soon blossomed and became one of the top players in the area.
The change? Howard said it had to do with personality.
“I was more of a girly-girl then,” she said. “Now, I’m a little bit more tough. That’s allowed me to succeed.”
Howard was a member of Terrebonne’s dominant squads in the late part of the past decade.
In her final season, she helped the team make a deep playoff push. She called those days some of the best of her life.
“Those were the years,” Howard said. “We were beasting and doing everything that we needed to do. We were on top of our grades and we were on top of everything that coach was requiring of us.
“It was an awesome, fantastic year. There’s nothing else to say except that was the most fun I’ve ever had playing.”
At the end of her senior season, Howard said she realized college volleyball could be an option.
“I love to play and I knew I had to go to college, so why not keep playing,” she said.
She eventually signed with Clark Atlanta and is now a junior.
Howard said her first two seasons were a bit rough and the team struggled to find its identity.
But this season, the Lady Panthers have rebounded and sit at 18-16 with a 12-4 record in conference play.
“Our turnaround has been pretty amazing,” Howard said. “This season has been similar to my years at Terrebonne. Everyone has really come together and we’re a lot closer as a team now. That’s been the biggest difference for us this year.”
But before and after volleyball absorbs Howard’s day, she is also bombarded with school.
The Houma native is a mass communications major with a concentration in television.
Loaded with a powerful voice (more about that later) and a bright personality, Howard said she wouldn’t mind being a news anchor or even a sideline reporter in the world of sports.
“I think I could do those things,” she said. “I’m definitely willing to try – that’s for sure.”
But to get to that point, there are mountains and mountains of homework to be done first.
Howard said after games and practices, she fights off the exhaustion to polish off any essays or studying that needs to be done.
It’s a process that she said takes her well past midnight on some days.
“It’s not easy to balance the two, but I do the best that I can,” she said. “I probably sleep a little bit less than I would like to, but that’s just how it is sometimes. To keep playing, I need the grades to be on point, so that’s the price you have to pay.”
Then there’s the dream – music.
Howard has been aspiring musician since she was a small child – it’s the dream of this woman’s life.
But it’s not all bells and whistles, Howard has some talent, too. The Clark Atlanta junior has a powerful voice that is unique in sound, compared to others in the realm of music.
She said she never received a voice lesson until she got to college and relies solely on pure talent.
The local said she specializes in pop, R&B and soul. Howard has sung in various competitions and has a few recorded tracks to her name.
The problem is finding the time to get in the studio to perfect her craft.
On the rare days when schoolwork is done at a manageable time, Howard said she goes to the studio and releases her energy.
Music is a big reason why she chose Clark Atlanta.
“Honestly, what I liked the most about Clark was the Atlanta part,” Howard said with a laugh. “Because I knew there is great music there. I don’t get to go as often as I would like, but when I do, it’s like a release to me. I love it.”
Sports, school, music – Howard has three full-time jobs.
That’s all without mentioning her actual job as a greeter in the Georgia Dome – a task she takes on when the event venue hosts football games and concerts.
For most, those tasks would be a major source of stress.
For Howard, she’s just living the life.
“It’s busy and it’s hectic,” she said. “But it’s Keierica. I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.”
Houma native and Clark Atlanta volleyball junior Keierica Howard rises up for a kill during a game this season. Howard is a full-time student athlete, an employee of the Georgia Dome and also an aspiring musician – a 24-hour day that she said is loaded with challenges and obstacles.
