I was born in North Carolina back in 1985. My parents were both military and served at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg). My mother was a communications specialist and my father… I don’t know what he was. He left when I was 2 years old and I never heard from him after I turned 6. I’m not entirely sure why, but whatever the reasons were died with him in 2008, because I’m never going to get a straight answer from my mother.
I graduated from high school in 2003. Went to Youngstown State for 7 and a half years before dropping out to enter the workforce. Returned to school at Eastern Gateway during the pandemic of 2020 and transferred to Kent State in the Fall of 2022. I finally graduated with my first four-year degree in May 2024.
2012 – Justine, Austin, Me (Pre-Transition), Alexis
2023 – Kaitlyn, Me, Justine, Dustin
I have five siblings, one brother and four sisters. Each of my sisters has one different parent. Justine and I share both our father and mother. Kaitlin, Dustin and I share the same father, but each has a different mother. Austin, Alexis and I share the same mother, but a different father. The family tree is quite complicated. To say the least.
I’ve had quite a journey. I’m a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and have been for quite a long time. I am also disabled. I struggle with my mental health and advocate for equity within the mental health realm.
Whatever my struggles, I find myself relentless when inspired, and was at Kent that I found my inspiration.
I have been a huge fan of sports since a child. I always remember obsessing over numbers and statistics. Photography has always been an interest of mine. However, I felt a career in Sport Information would always be out of reach.
Finding my way into high school athletics led me to believe that a career would be possible. It was finding the pathway that would be problematic. Discovering it here at Kent State now leads me to believe what is truly possible. And with graduation looming in less than a year, I figured out what I want to do and where I want to go with my life, 20 years after graduating high school.
My goal is simple with where I want to go. I want to serve a college or university as a sports information or communications director. A job with little to no glamour, sitting at the scorer’s table or being on the baseline taking pictures, doing jobs that are hidden yet important to the events.
Through being a member of College Sports Communicators (CSC), I have been afforded numerous opportunities that I had felt exclusive. I was a grant recipient for #CSCUnite25. I am a 2026 CSC Inclusion Fellow. I am a member of CSC’s Inclusion Committee.
With my work with CSC, I advocate for trans members in athletic administration and collegiate sport participation. I also work to advocate for mental health, neurodivergent accessibility, and inclusion for disabled individuals within athletic administration.
Where I end up that’s for fate to decide. I will be happy anywhere I feel safe. Being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I need to be somewhere we are welcomed and protected, because there are places that want to erase us from existence. Erase our history and our future.
My greatest strength is my passion, zeal, creativity, curiosity, hope, and vision. As a previous boss said, I would always be around, looking for something to do. I say I try to be the first one out when nothing is going on, the first one to turn around when something comes up, and the last one out when there’s stuff to do.
My purpose in life is to support others and enhance the student-athlete experience. With my future in mind, that is what I want to do. I want to work in athletics and be a support to the school that employs me.
Cadence Pierce - Portfolio 