Members of the Class of 2023 were decked out in red outfits and accessories Wednesday, Nov. 9, to support their classmate Treasure Brown. Brown signed her NCAA Division I National Letter of Intent to throw shot put at California State University, Northridge, next fall. Her family, friends, coaches and other members of the Archer community gathered in the amphitheater to set up posters, listen to a Q&A about her athletic journey, watch her officially sign the letter and celebrate her accomplishments with treats.

Junior Malia Apor, a member of the Athlete Leadership Council, asked Brown questions about her experience with track and field, her recruiting process and how she has balanced her athletics with academics. The following are Brown’s responses to Apor’s questions during the signing.

What has being on Archer’s varsity track and field team taught you?

Treasure Brown [TB]: It’s definitely taught me that I do have a big support system because sometimes with my sport, a lot of people don’t know what it is, but the team definitely has made their effort to make sure they’re watching me throw and make sure that they know what I’m doing and know how I’m contributing to the team. So they definitely let me know that I do have people that know what I’m doing, and they do appreciate what I contribute.

How do you balance being an Archer multi-sport athlete along with your academics and your extracurriculars? What strategies you can share?

[TB]: I would just say to use your free time very wisely. Because if you know me, you know I’m in library cubicles every single day. Managing your time wisely is the best thing you could do, like using your free periods to do what you have to do. For me, right now we’re starting basketball, [and] I have to go to practice, so I know that I can do my homework during my free periods and… when I get home, I have to do homework and all that. So, it’s just making sure that you manage your time and making sure that you do what needs to be done.

What sacrifices do you make to achieve today’s goal of signing?

[TB]: Social life. That is the biggest thing ever. I have a friend whose birthday I haven’t been to in six years. Every single year I had to go to the Junior Olympics — it was always during her birthday time, and even my birthday when I was younger was [during] the Junior Olympics. And this year, I had to do regionals on my actual birthday. Also, having to wake up early on weekends go to track meets and having to miss out on after school things, like you want to just chill with your friends, [but] you can’t because you have practice. So there’s a lot of social life that is sacrificed for this.

What is the greatest challenge you have faced during the recruiting process or as an athlete? What advice would you give to your younger self?

[TB]: One of my biggest challenges was definitely comparing myself to other people. With the recruiting process, like I said, I thought I was late because I was looking on Instagram, and it seemed like people had 21 offers from schools. Also I think as an athlete growing up, I was really hard on myself. If I didn’t do good or if I didn’t throw my best, I felt like I was just not doing good. I would tell my younger self that it’s okay to not always do good because like there’s obviously a process to certain things. I would just tell myself to not compare myself to other people — just trust my own path.

What does it mean to you to share this moment with your classmates and community?

[TB]: All this support it just makes me so happy. To have it, I mean, though I had it from my family and my club team growing up, it just makes me feel so good that people know what I do and they appreciate it. It just makes me feel really good that I know I have people on my side, and I just really love you guys.