Basketball helps Penn State Beaver’s Seggewiss Overcome Adversity

By Devon Johnson, Penn State Beaver

MONACA, Pa. — Basketball helped Kyra Seggewiss get through a major life change as a child and has led her to becoming a standout player for the Penn State Beaver women’s basketball team.

Seggewiss, a junior at Penn State Beaver, is currently captain of Penn State Beaver Women’s Basketball team. This past season she helped lead the team to the semi-finals of the United States Collegiate Athletics Association (USCAA) National Tournament with a 24-5 overall record. She was a USCAA All-Academic and PSUAC West Defensive Player of The Year.

Her basketball career began after she experienced a big change as a child. She moved from Canada to the U.S. with her mother, father and brother when she was 8. Seggewiss had to leave other family members and old friends behind to start a new life in Camas, Washington.

“When we first moved to Camas I thought it was going to be tough because I didn’t know anyone, and it was going to be hard making new friends,” Seggewiss said. “I knew I had no choice but to overcome this adversity, so I was up to the challenge.”

Seggewiss’s parents wanted her to start playing sports to help her acclimate.

“When we moved to the U.S, my parents thought it would be a good idea to play sports so I could make new friends and adapt to the new culture here in America,” she said. “I started playing basketball because … I saw my twin brother playing, so I thought it would be fun.”

Seggewiss said her brother inspired her to play basketball and she had the opportunity to share the court with him while they were young and were playing club sports.

That start led to Seggewiss, a guard/forward, to continue playing basketball through high school and into college.

“I came to Penn State Beaver to play basketball and get a national championship here,” Seggewiss said. “I’d heard Penn State Beaver was a small campus, so I came here because of smaller classrooms and to get a better education.”

The team had a strong season with a record of 24-5 overall and 16-3 in conference. They made it to the USCAA National Tournament where they fell just short of making it to the championship game in a 70-67 loss against Johnson and Wales.

“I felt proud of our team because we did good for having a very young team, and all of our starters, besides me, were new,” Seggewiss said.

Seggewiss, a communications major, said she plans to return next year for her senior year to win the conference championship and the national championship. After she graduates in the spring of 2024, she said she hopes to further her education by attending graduate school. 

“I’m just motivated to create a better life for myself and my future family, and I want to be able to help others,” she said. “You never know when your last day is going to be so I’m grateful that I have the opportunity everyday to make something out of myself.”

Seggewiss attributes her success to people who inspired her over the years, especially her grandfather. She said she looked at her grandfather as a role model because he helped to raise her.. She said her grandfather was the person who made her who she is today. 

“My grandparents raised me since my parents were divorced,” Seggewiss said. “My grandfather is really strong in his faith, and he’s just a great example of who I want to be.”