Bailey Trumm 鈥�24 was overjoyed when she received her first acceptance letter to medical school. As a Division I basketball player and a top scholar of 蘑菇短视频鈥檚 biology program, she elevated her team and earned the praise of professors with a ferocious work ethic.
By the arrival of the 17th acceptance letter, Trumm and her family understood just how instrumental that untiring attitude had been.
And it didn鈥檛 come out of nowhere.
For the Trumm family, natives of Powell, Tennessee, the sport had always been a way to grow and come together.
鈥淏asketball has been a big part of my family鈥檚 life ever since we were little,鈥� Trumm said. 鈥淢y sister and I usually always played together, and our dad was our coach.
鈥淓arly on, we both had the dream of playing Division I basketball and especially being able to play together.
鈥淲e worked really hard and spent countless hours in the gym as a family, getting hundreds of reps in for our shot and making sure we were the best players that we could be.鈥�
Before moving on to college, Trumm had clinched the Tennessee state record for 3-pointers in a high school career, and her and her younger sister, Reagan Trumm 鈥�24, were both bound for Division I teams.
Bailey initially committed to Appalachian State University, but transferred to WCU after her freshman year when the opportunity arose to join her sibling.
鈥淲hen that opportunity came for us to play together at Western Carolina, at a school two hours away, so that our mom and dad would be able to attend games, that was kind of a no-brainer for us,鈥� the eldest Trumm said.
Once on campus, Trumm set her eyes on WCU鈥檚 pre-med track. She鈥檇 loved the sciences since she was young, and after losing her middle school basketball coach, Coach Lee, to cancer, she was more motivated than ever to enter the field of medicine.
鈥淎t the time, I wasn鈥檛 really sure what that diagnosis meant. But over the course of that season, the gravity of that diagnosis and the treatment he was undergoing became much clearer to me,鈥� Trumm said.
鈥淚 remember that despite the intense treatment he was undergoing, his commitment to our team never wavered, and he showed up every day with the same energy and enthusiasm that he always had, and ultimately, he led us to the championship game that year.鈥濃��
Trumm carried that enthusiasm forward and continues to now.
Alongside her sister, Trumm founded T-squared basketball training, a free program for local kids to learn and practice the basics of the game, and before graduating from WCU, she was voted the 2024 Biology Scholar of the Year by faculty.
Heather Coan, associate professor of biology, described Trumm as 鈥渢he ideal student.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 fun to think we as professors play a role in helping students like Bailey achieve their goals鈥� but the reality is that she is a force of nature and her achievements are all through her own hard work. I simply had the pleasure to be on the sidelines watching.鈥�
Trumm will continue her education at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, keeping the Catamount spirit alive in her constant dedication to improving health outcomes across the region that raised her.