Loses are Better Wins by Tamyra

Loses are Better Wins by Tamyra - August 2026 Scholarship Essay

My name is Tamyra Butts and I’m a freshman at Tuskegee University majoring in chemical engineering. In high school, I was in many clubs and sports, including, Black Student Union, National Honors Society, German National Honors Society, varsity basketball, and varsity track thrower. Outside of school, I was a part of Girls Inc and Girls Scouts to improve my community.
“Ouuu,” the crowd said simultaneously. The room fell silent and hurried steps were approaching. The game I’ve been playing since I was 4, I had come to a complete pause. Time felt slow and the gym lights were shining bright that day. But I wasn’t crying or sad, I was happy. I am grateful for the opportunities, and the gifts basketball has given me throughout my life. After spending a month in a boot and a few months in physical therapy, I was cleared to return to the court again.
Throughout high school, I was on my varsity basketball team for three years and spent one year on our junior varsity team. Juggling basketball and school taught me perseverance. Being on a sports team while doing school and other extracurricular broke me. After long practices, I would go home and cry. I cried myself to bed many nights. I had to work on schoolwork, clean the kitchen, take a shower, clean my room, make my lunch for tomorrow, and study for my ACT. Overwhelmed was an understatement, I was exhausted. By my junior year, I had fallen in a mental trap.
A few days before winter break my counselor called me into her office and said “You might not be able to return to the court in the spring. If this final grade comes in as a F, I can't let you return to the court.” I cried like a baby in her office begging her to let me play, basketball was my whole life. What was I going to tell my parents their straight A daughter is on academic probation. She told me I had to make a change next semester to keep my eligibility in basketball. Sports were my whole life, but it was also destroying my life too. I had to make a change. I had to start putting more hours into my schooling and go out less. In the spring semester, I focused only on school and finishing the basketball season. I turned down many hangouts and lost many friends, but I had to put myself first. I developed closer relationships with my teachers and went to more office hours. I finished my second semester with better grades and was allowed to continue playing basketball my senior year.
I love basketball but there is more to my life than basketball. I realized my purpose is bigger than the court, extends into the sky, engineering aircrafts. I want to pursue a career in aviation specializing in thermodynamics for military aircrafts. Basketball taught me to approach situations with discipline, an open mind, and patience. These are the same qualities that drew me to chemical engineering. Throughout my apprenticeship at Boeing, I went through many technical challenges on knowledge gaps. I realized solving engineering problems requires the same perseverance and dedication that I learned while playing basketball. I had to ask questions, collaborate, and think outside the box similarly to what I had to do on the court. Whether I’m working on a presentation or hanging out with friends, every day I rely on the lessons I learned from basketball.
Although my basketball career was coming to an end, I wasn’t ready to leave basketball behind yet. During my senior year, I started reffing at a youth league in my community. In my community we have a refereeing shortage so being able to let our kids play more basketball created a new love of basketball for me. I want to inspire and guide kids in their journeys for the sport I love too. Watching these players develop the same passion for the game as I once had led me to a new appreciation for basketball. The love and passion in their eyes remind me of myself when I play.
Playing sports since a young age is a gift I’m very grateful that my family allowed me to do but it often required sacrifice. It took a toll on our financial situations and my relationships. Playing at such high levels often leads to time commitments that causes me to lose quality time with my family. As I grew older, I noticed I was investing too much time in the game rather than my own relationships. This realization taught me winning means nothing if you have no one to celebrate with. Today, I prioritize my personal relationships. To restore this distance, I do many activities with my dad including going to rodeos or watching an NBA game.
Looking back at my basketball journey, it gave me so much more than wins and losses. It gave me lifetime memories, friendships, technical skills, and knowledge that I can use for the rest of my life. Being injured and my grades dropping weren’t the end of my chapter, it was the start of a new one.