{"id":94013,"date":"2019-01-28T11:41:17","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T16:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=94013"},"modified":"2022-03-21T12:41:54","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T16:41:54","slug":"ucf-student-spotlight-nyala-shuler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-student-spotlight-nyala-shuler\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPerseverance is key.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
Redshirt senior forward Nyala Shuler \u201917<\/strong>\u2019s biggest fan at 166su women\u2019s basketball games is also the person who inspired her future career as a pediatric doctor: her grandmother, Clementine.<\/p>\n As a child, Shuler\u2019s summer breaks from school were spent with her grandmother, a retired nurse. Shuler was fascinated by a nursing kit she kept in the house that had a stethoscope, thermometer and other medical equipment.<\/p>\n \u201cShe still comes to a lot of the home games and sits behind the bench. It\u2019s a really good feeling to be able to look at the stands and see her,\u201d Shuler says.<\/p>\n With a bachelor’s degree in health sciences<\/a> already under her belt, the Orlando native and interdisciplinary studies<\/a> graduate student has started every game this season for the Knights, who are off to their best start in the Division I era and receiving votes in the national polls. With a 17-3 record, including 6-1 in American Athletic Conference play, UCF is currently second in the league\u2019s standings, behind only No. 3 UConn.<\/p>\n In high school (Edgewater), we were cleaning out the garage and I found these old scrapbooks of my dad and my mom from their playing days. I realized, wow my parents were really good at basketball. It was that moment in the garage that motivated me to put in the extra work to get better and get a scholarship.<\/p>\n My mom talks to me every day about it: \u201cYou have to remember, your games are numbered.\u201d Basketball has given me confidence and a competitive nature. It\u2019s motivating to be around other women who are strong. I\u2019m trying to mentally prepare myself for when it\u2019s all over. I am going to take an MCAT course because I want to go to medical school, but I\u2019m probably going to take a gap year first. I need experience in the work force, and I\u2019ve never had a job in my life, so it\u2019s going to be interesting to see how that goes. But for now, I\u2019m focused on playing every game like it\u2019s my last. I want to be able the leave the program on a good note. We want to turn it into a top 25 program. I hope Knight Nation will keep coming out to support us. That would be really great. They make such a difference.<\/p>\n It\u2019s interesting because I don\u2019t think either one of us really jump to block shots. Statistics-wise he has more, but I think I have him beat on technique. (Note: Shuler, who stands 6-feet tall, ranks among the 166su women’s top 10 for career blocks while Fall owns the school record for career blocks.)<\/p>\n That was part of the reason why I came here. It was to stay home and build something here. And it\u2019s not just me who thinks that way. I have been watching [junior guard and teammate] Kay Kay Wright play since the eighth grade. [Men\u2019s basketball senior guard] BJ Taylor is from Orlando. We\u2019ve had football players from Orlando. I think we\u2019re doing a really good job of getting people to come here. This is our city so why not try to build it up and be the best?<\/p>\n \u201cPerseverance is key.\u201d That first year was really hard for me. I was so excited to play college basketball and then I got injured and basketball was basically taken away from me for the next eight months. I had to find other things that made me happy because I wasn\u2019t able to play the game I love so much.<\/p>\n School. And Netflix. My teammates and I watch shows together. We\u2019ve been watching a show called You<\/em>. I just finished one called Somewhere Between<\/em>. I so excited for the sequel to To All the Boys I\u2019ve Loved Before<\/em>. (Freshman forward) Brittany Smith and I are going to watch it. [Women’s basketball forward Tolulope Omokore] and I have been watching Grey\u2019s Anatomy<\/em>. That\u2019s probably one of my favorite shows of all time. I\u2019ve seen every season. Derrick\u2019s death hurt me so much. I stopped watching after his death for a couple months and then I was finally able to get over it and start watching again. I get connected to the characters so when they die or go off the show, I feel like part of me is just gone.<\/p>\n The 166su women\u2019s basketball team\u2019s next game is Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. against Houston at CFE Arena. The first 1,000 fans will receive a mini Knugget bobblehead.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Knights forward Nyala Shuler on life as a student-athlete in her hometown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":94014,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[26,27],"tags":[17269,4857,5198],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-94013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-student-life","tag-student-spotlight","tag-ucf-athletics","tag-womens-basketball"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen did you know you wanted to become a Division I student-athlete?<\/h2>\n
What do you think it will be like when your basketball career is done?<\/h2>\n
Who is a better shot blocker: You or 166su men’s basketball 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall?<\/h2>\n
166su is your hometown team. What does that mean to you?<\/h2>\n
If you could give yourself advice when you were a freshman in 2014, what would it be?<\/h2>\n
What makes you happy?<\/h2>\n