By Sarah Moomaw, News Staff
On Saturday, Michayla Mathis became the newest Husky. She was flanked by her parents, the women’s basketball team and its coaches as she signed her National Letter of Intent, officially joining the women’s basketball team.
It’s not standard practice for NLIs to be signed at a recruiting day, but Michayla is special. She is 10 years old and not a basketball player. She is Northeastern’s latest Team Impact match.
The Boston-based nonprofit organization matches children with life-threatening illnesses with college athletic teams as an outlet for support. Team Impact believes the connection goes both ways, benefiting the kids while also acting as a grounding force for participating athletic teams.
“These kids just teach you [a] lesson,” Maura Mahoney, director of case management and communications for Team Impact, said. “A bad day for some of these student athletes is an extra long lift or a couple sprints at practice. But having Michayla here just gives them that perspective that they really should just be so grateful, which is something that a lot of student athletes can learn from.”
Michayla is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor on her optic nerve. The inoperable tumor has limited the sight in her left eye to only six inches of peripheral vision and almost no frontal vision.
Her mother, Michelle, says treatment is working and some sight has started to return, but in reality there’s no perfect treatment.
“It’s always going to be with her, but when she gets to 21, it stops growing,” Michelle Mathis said. “The doctor said she’s going to outlive us all.”
Michayla is at the beginning of a new 52-week treatment plan at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Having 13 new teammates who will be more like older sisters will give her something to focus her energy on.
“I think this is going to help because she’ll have somewhere else to look forward to and think about as opposed to just treatment every week,” Michelle Mathis said.
Through Team Impact, the family becomes a part of Northeastern athletics and is welcome on campus, at practice and at every game.
While on campus Saturday, they met the team and coaches for the first time. The girls had previously reached out and connected with Michayla via phone calls and text messages. They welcomed her with open arms, giving her her own locker and a jersey with the number five on it.
Michelle and her husband, Michael Mathis, said they are excited to be part of the Husky family and are looking forward to what their new relationship with the team will bring.
“It’s just fun to be here,” Michelle Mathis said. “I just feel like with these ladies taking her on as part of their team, it’s going to change Michayla’s whole outlook on life.”
Team Impact reached out to graduate student and former Northeastern basketball player Dani Iervolino to assess the team’s interest last semester. After discussing it with the girls and coaches, they signed on and were added to the waiting list for a match.
“We’re more interested in the impact it’ll leave us,” senior forward Christine Huber said. “We’re really hoping to get to know Michayla and her family. They are so sweet and loving and just to impact someone’s life the way Team Impact allows us too, I think we are really going to benefit from this experience.
“I feel like [the team] is more excited when she’s around. We want her to get the full effect of the whole relationship so we will really put in the effort to make sure we are doing what we have to do.”
Michayla isn’t the only Husky placed through Team Impact. All of Northeastern’s athletic teams have partnered with the nonprofit.
Men’s hockey was the first match made, in the middle of last season. They’ve given 9-year-old Ario Nour his own locker in Matthews Arena. Liam McGourty, baseball’s honorary Husky, has his place with the team, too.
“I was happy and excited,” Michayla said remembering the day she found out the Huskies would become her team.
