Being A Captain In The Time of COVID: Kamara St. Paul

Close friends of Kamara St. Paul would describe her as “funny, fun, nice, and tall.” Whether she’s on the court, making an açai bowl at SoBol, or singing along to her favorite artists, Kamara is full of life and passion. A junior at New Rochelle High School, Kamara is juggling two sports: varsity basketball and volleyball, her studies, and a part-time job, all with pride and resilience. 

English is Kamara’s favorite class, due to her love of books and Mr. Hedman’s discussion-based curriculum. Kamara shared that the novel On The Come Up by Angie Thomas had a positive impact on her.  The book gave Kamara a sense of hope and confidence. 

As the captain of New Rochelle High School’s Girls Varsity Basketball team, Kamara is a natural leader. She knows how to get people together and get things done. She recently proved this in the team’s final  game of the season, against The Ursuline School. With the added struggles of shortened sport seasons, COVID restrictions, and new team members, Kamara has had difficulties as the team captain: “It's a very different environment than what it usually is and it’s hard to get a close bond with the girls because we can’t really hang out on the scale that we would in other times.” Due to their altered COVID schedule, the teammates had to get to know each other as much as they could during these practices. Kamara feels lucky to say that, even after a rough start, she and her teammates figured out how to work together and communicate better.

Kamara also shared what Black History Month means to her and how people can expand their knowledge beyond the single month: “It's a time to celebrate my ancestors and important historic figures in the past...that have made contributions to get me where I am, although I think we need more of a variety when we talk about Black History Month instead of focusing on the same people every year.”