Mikayla Lehman

Occupation: Marketing coordinator and customer service at Trump Direct, athletic director at Decatur Christian School, head girls varsity basketball coach at Decatur Christian School and youth referee at Decatur Family YMCA.

Family: Parents, Joe and Roberta Lehman; siblings Heather Cline (husband, Jared) and Amber Edwards (husband, Josh and daughters, Esther Rose and Emiley Grace); paternal grandma Helen Lehman and maternal grandma Betty Warren.

Career highlights and/or accomplishments:

I graduated from college in May 2016 with a BBA in digital media marketing. I assumed fi nding a job within a reasonable amount of time would be fairly easy. Lesson learned – never assume! With a lot of patience and faith in God, I waited over two years before I landed a full-time position in the business fi eld. Once 2018 rolled around, everything fell into place. Within a 12 month span, I started re ng at the Y, founded my summer basketball camp, began working at Trump Direct, and was hired as DCS’s girls basketball coach. (God’s timing is perfect, can I get an amen?!) It takes some people years to snag that “dream job,” but I can honestly say I’m living out my dream job(s) right now. Handling marketing at my Monday-Friday job, coaching, and working with the youth?! It can’t get much better than that. When your work is your passion and your passion is your work, you can’t go wrong.

Community involvement: At Trump Direct, whether it be designing projects, providing customer service, or handling product fulfi llment, I have the pleasure of working with area leaders, companies, and local businesses.

In February, I fi nished my second season as head coach at DCS. In August 2019, I accepted the position of athletic director at DCS. Both roles have allowed me to interact with and work alongside students, parents, and sta at the school, as well as athletes, coaches, athletic directors, and referees in the area.

In addition to refereeing youth basketball and soccer, I also provide basketball training. These both provide the opportunity to teach the sports I grew up playing while building life lessons along the way. Forming

SARAH JANE PHOTOGRAPHY

ning and teaching weekly lessons, playing games, and helping the kids memorize Bible passages are just a few things I enjoy doing.

What should the community do to attract

more young people to the area? Personally, I hold the mindset that starting from scratch isn’t always the best option. Instead, focus on what already exists. From there, build and progress. Love the young people that currently reside within the community. Showing them that you care and are open to hearing their beliefs, ideas, and opinions can go a long way. By implementing things that are of value to them, you begin to gain their trust and loyalty. Trust me, there are plenty of young people in our area that could provide positive things in various facets of life. Sometimes, them knowing that they’re heard is just the extra push they need to get involved. Start getting those people active within the community and you’ll begin attracting others to stay or come to the same city and surrounding areas I love and support.

friendships with YMCA sta , coaches, and families is an added bonus!

In June 2018, I started and hosted “Never Too Small To Ball,” a community-wide basketball camp that gives youth a fun week in the gym where basic skills and fundamentals are covered while teamwork, sportsmanship, and confi dent mentalities are promoted. This summer will mark the camp’s third annual appearance (depending on COVID-19).

What are three things most people don’t know about you?

1. In high school, I shattered my elbow and wore a “robot arm” cast for over a month. 2. I went to an NBA game and played on an NBA court all in the same day. 3. My dad’s side of the family is made up of 120 people. I’m grandkid 24/25, but there are also 50 great-grandkids and 11 greatgreat grandkids!

Since graduating from college in 2016, I’ve been a leader in the kids’ club at my home church, East Park Baptist. Plan

What is the best and worst piece of advice you have ever received?

Best: At age 16, I started my fi rst-ever job as an assistant at DR Roberts Photography. At some point during that fi rst summer working there, my bosses (DR and Ann Roberts) were out of town and more or less trusted me to handle things while they were gone. Because I was fairly new and still “learning the ropes,” Ann left me a to-do list of things I should strive to accomplish by the end of the week. I won’t lie, as I read down the paper, I was a bit overwhelmed. At the very bottom, though, Ann had written, “How do you eat an elephant, Mikayla? One bite at a time!” When Ann returned to the o ce, she explained that that was her way of saying, “No matter how big and