Sophomore Charisma Taylor left a university that offered her a full-ride scholarship to pursue her track and field goals at WSU.

Charisma set the WSU indoor freshman records in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.30, and the triple jump at 12.96-meters, which places her third all-time in WSU history for triple jumps.

Charisma’s journey started in Nassau, Bahamas where she spent 17 years of her life. Then she moved to Ohio and attended SPIRE Academy for her senior year of high school. Originally, she attended the University of Arkansas because she was offered a full-ride scholarship.

Even though she knew Arkansas had a good program the coaching style at Arkansas didn’t fit for her goals, Charisma said.

“I want to go to a certain level in my collegiate career, and I didn’t feel they could take me there,” Taylor said.

Track and field was not the only sport Charisma grew up playing. Soccer is a popular sport in her family. Many of her siblings started when they were old enough to kick a ball, her father Dewey Taylor said in an email.

Charisma said her love for the game of soccer at a young age was “through the roof.” She wanted to be her own person and play soccer. Once she started training and getting better with track and field, her love for the sport gradually came along.

“My parents did not really force me to play soccer. They forced me to run track,” Taylor said.

In the email, Dewey said he saw potential in all his children to excel in sports, but Charisma stood out. He did his own research into the sport.

“It could be nutrition, techniques, prayer or words of encouragement, whatever so that they could get better … I love them and wanted to see the best come out of them because I knew they had greatness in them through Christ,” Dewey wrote in the email.

The Taylor family applies a quote from their former Pastor Myles Munroe who said, “Let your gift make room for you” to their lives. In the email, Dewey said he interprets this quote as letting his children develop their talents to get scholarships to go to a university.

Charisma said she has a lot left to accomplish at WSU. She set goals to make it to the indoor and outdoor track and field nationals. Her goal is to go pro and make it to the Olympics.

Charisma is a hospitality business management major. She hopes that after a long career in track she will one day be able to own a bakery and be a pastry chef. The bakery will be called either “Rizzy’s Sweets and Treats,” or “Charismas Sweets,” she said.