TUCSON, Ariz.- The Arizona Beach Volleyball team is a proud supporter of Team IMPACT, a national nonprofit that connects college sports teams with children experiencing chronic illnesses or disabilities, offering mutually beneficial and long-lasting experiences for all who take part. Maki Bispham, a senior on the Arizona Beach Volleyball team, is a fellow for Team IMPACT, and while in this role, she has had many opportunities for personal and professional growth. Bispham believes this organization has the power to change lives, and is excited to see its growth in the future.  
 
Below is a Q&A, in which Bispham discuses her experiences working with and advocating for Team IMPACT. 
 
What is Team IMPACT? 
"Team IMPACT is a non-profit that matches kids with a chronic illness or disability with a college team, and there's a whole bunch of clinical research behind it but I think it's ages five to 16 because they've deemed that those are the most beneficial years (for the match) to benefit. They're with the team for two years and it's not just a photo op. They're part of the roster, they're able to come to practices, they're on the sidelines at games. With our match, she invited us to her birthday party, so a couple of girls went to that. It's just a really good support network and community for both the match and our team. For us, at least me specifically, it's been a really good thing to help me gain perspective, because I'm realizing there's definitely more to the sport, there's more to play for. It has helped me in realizing things in my life that I'm grateful for and like all the community around me, the support. It's such a cool thing, and I can't emphasize enough how mutually beneficial it is, especially being a fellow because they put so much into our personal, professional and every single one of our developments. I sometimes feel like I'm getting out more than I'm putting back into this, which I think is really crazy, because coming into any opportunity like this, you just expect to give, give, give. It's been really cool to see how much I've gained from it personally. I can't say enough good things about it."
 
How did you initially get involved with the program? What drew you to this cause?
"I knew what Team IMPACT was because we got a match in the very beginning of fall of last year. And then I was talking to Jasmine, because I was wanting to get more involved in the community and I just needed some opportunities. I wanted to help out in any way that I could. So she knew I was looking into ways to be more involved, and I think someone from Team IMPACT had reached out and was like 'hey, we'd really like a fellow from the U of A, do you know anyone that would be interested?' And since I had been talking to her, she presented it to me and was like 'we don't really know what this entails but I think it's a really cool thing and you know what Team IMPACT is.' And I said 'yeah, I think this would be really cool to do.' From there I just applied. It was a super easy application, I filled out my information and wrote why I wanted to be a part of it. Then I had to do an interview and I was so nervous, because I was like 'oh my gosh, it's my first job interview.' But it was so nice, it was just a conversation, like 'oh, how'd you get into beach volleyball?' From that moment, it was very clear that this is a very personable community and that they really just care about you as a person. They don't really see you as a worker, it's like you are a person and an athlete."
 
Why do you think the work done at Team IMPACT is so important? What sets Team IMPACT apart in the services it provides?
"I'm going to go back again to saying how mutually beneficial it is. There are a lot of things that we can do as athletes; we can give back, and it benefits us in a way, it makes us feel good, but it's not really benefiting us to the scale that Team IMPACT is. Yes we're giving back and yes we do feel good, but also [Team IMPACT] is providing us with all these resources and opportunities to better ourselves beyond what we're doing with our match. I think what makes it unique is that it's not just a one-time thing. We don't just post on social media and then forget about it. We develop the relationship throughout the year, and we continuously make sure that we're in contact with them. Our coach is the main point of contact for our match, so she's sending stuff and reaching out, we're all sending video messages. It's more behind the scenes than it is what you see online, which is really cool, because I feel like a lot of the times it can be reversed, where it's all just that one post. So much goes into it that isn't seen because we all truly care and want to see Ximena do well. I got to meet the CEO and a couple of the directors, and they were just asking about me. I'm like 'okay, what are ways I can help Team IMPACT,' but they were like 'what do you want to do? How can we help you? Is there any way you can hop on a Zoom call if you're interested in this field?' Just hearing, especially a CEO, care that much about what I want to do with my life was crazy to me, it felt so good. I already knew that I loved Team IMPACT, but this was like, wow, I want everyone else to be a part of it now."
 
What has been your favorite memory from your work with Team IMPACT?
"Probably getting to present at the Children's Hospital Association Conference, just because that is definitely something that would never have come otherwise. I didn't really know that was an opportunity. I was the only student athlete, so everyone had their badges and they were walking around like 'CEO, CFO, President of this' and I was like 'student-athlete.' Just getting to be in that environment and hear those conversations, it was interesting because I got to hear more about them as people, like 'oh, my son has this going on' or 'my daughter was doing this.' It was cool to see, you guys are super powerful and have a lot more knowledge and expertise and experience than me, but at the end of the day, we're all just people and we care about each other, and we want to build these relationships. Me being a student athlete and you being a CEO, there might not be too much on paper where it's beneficial for you, but they still go out of their way to make sure that I'm supported and that they value what skills I have."
 
What are the most important lessons you have learned through your experience with Team IMPACT, and how will you carry those lessons with you throughout your life?
"I think the biggest lesson I've learned throughout this whole opportunity of applying to Team IMPACT is taking advantage of the opportunities that are presented to you, because when it first came up, I was like 'oh yeah, this is cool, I'll apply.' I was in a very big 'yes' era, because I wanted to better myself. So I took advantage of that opportunity, and then I was able to go to this conference in Boston, which was really super cool. I got to meet 120 student-athletes from all over the country, which was amazing. I got to hear different accents for the first time in my life too! When they had asked me to speak at the conference, it was very intimidating to me at first because I'm not one for public speaking. I don't really like to go up in front of a crowd, especially of people that I don't know, and put myself in that situation. But the perspective I was able to gain from Team IMPACT was that this isn't about me, I'm not doing it for myself. I know that I believe in this organization, and I want this organization to be as wide scale as it can, so of course I'm going to do it. The perspective has been a really good thing in helping me be able to say yes to more things and realize, being a student-athlete, you have so many life skills and opportunities. For me, it was easy to be like, okay I'm a student-athlete, I've made all these sacrifices and at times it can feel like the sacrifices don't really have a gain, I'm giving up more than I'm getting. But taking this opportunity, I've gotten to meet so many incredible people and learn so much about myself beyond sports."
 
How have you seen Team Impact others on the team? Any particular stories or examples come to mind?
"A memory that stands out to me specifically is we had a dinner for Halloween and we drew little pumpkins, it was like an arts and crafts night. It was super fun. This was this year, and last year we didn't do as much but we still had stuff, and Ximena was really shy. She would hang out with her mom or stay with her family. But towards the end, when we were packing up, she was about to leave and our coach was like 'okay, bye Ximena, it was so good to see you' and seeing her run up to the coach and give her a big hug was probably the highlight for me. We've gotten to see her grow as a person, because she was super shy and it's really intimidating to go, especially to a group of adults or semi-adults and everyone's staring at you. But then we get to see her trust us, and be excited to see us, and on the walk back after she hugged coach she was telling me about her shoes and she was so excited to talk to us. It's like oh my gosh, this makes me so happy, I'm so glad we can be the community you trust and you feel you can open up to. It's crazy because even just seeing her once a month can make such a difference; she really cherishes that, and it makes me realize that I really have to be intentional with everything that I do because it can mean so much."
 
How has Team IMPACT positively influenced not just you, but also the entire Arizona beach volleyball program?
"I think that it's definitely helped us kind of take a step back, especially when we are with her. Looking at the things that it's so easy to get caught up in, like if I had a bad practice or something along those lines, and being able to realize that even though yesterday was really tough or I did not have a great practice, there's so much more to life than athletics. There are so many things we can still gain from a bad day. Being able to just see everyone interact with her, it's a lightbulb moment. When we are with her, we are valued, we are important, and there's so much power in our position. I think it's easy to get caught up, especially being a smaller sport like beach volleyball, with how I can really use my platform when it doesn't really feel like I have one. But I think we've all kind of realized, seeing the difference we've made in her life, like wow, that applies to us too. It's not limited by how many fans come to our games." 
 
Is there anything else you would like to share about Team IMPACT and your experiences with it?
"I hope more teams can participate. I know that this year we had two teams get matched, and I'm really excited for the growth that other teams get to experience with this too. It's definitely growing, which I like to see."