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Mikki Frazier ’01 Lifelong connections
MIKKI (ELFTMAN) FRAZIER ’01 was surprised to find herself playing college basketball in a gym smaller than her high school’s.
She had been recruited away from a prestigious and well-equipped Sacramento area team to the relatively new HNU women’s basketball program. Her HNU team uniforms were not even consistent; she wore different numbers when she played home and away games.
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But she soon learned that at HNU, smaller meant many more opportunities for student-athletes. Her team won their conference games and competed in national tournaments. Frazier served as team captain, and went on to also succeed as student body president, resident advisor, and valedictorian. “I had so many opportunities to use my voice in writing, in speeches, and on committees,” Frazier enthusiastically recalled.
Back then, she could not know that her HNU connections would remain important personal and professional ties nearly 20 years later. “So much of my current life revolves around relationships formed at HNU,” Frazier observed, noting that her 15-year-old son’s father also played basketball for HNU.
In 2007, her best friend from Holy Names, Mya Paul, offered her a position at the Head-Royce school in Oakland. Frazier is now the Director of Programs there, overseeing the after-school, summer, and Head Start programs.
Frazier credited her HNU education for her ability to hold her own at Head-Royce. “In school [at HNU] I really learned how to articulate my opinion and back it up with evidence,”Frazier explained. “Now, I can build credibility for programs that might otherwise be marginalized because they are not part of the academic day.”
Head-Royce itself is connected to HNU. It is located just down the street, and Frazier’s students often go on to attend HNU. A number of HNU students end up working there, as well.
Frazier lovingly described HNU and the city of Oakland as both “scrappy and resourceful” and “creative and inspired.” The same terms also describe Frazier, whose mission is to leverage the resources of an independent school to create educational opportunities for low-income students, in a way that also gives back to the school.
Inspired and influenced by the Sisters, Frazier remembers living with them in the residence halls and seeing them at the optional daily mass. She cherishes a graduation photograph of herself and Sister Maureen. She also recalls a special memory about Sister Ethel: “We’d be showing up for basketball practice at 5:30 a.m. and there she was— getting out of the pool. And she was in her 70s at the time!”
Always an athlete herself, Frazier works out regularly. In her free time, she can be found attending HNU basketball games, hanging out with other alumni, and cheering on her son Cameron during his football and basketball games. O —SA
